Italian pop
star
Laura Pausini
's first English LP,
From the Inside
, is a guilty pleasure for any closeted fan of easy-listening
pop
(
Celine Dion
,
Michael Bolton
Backstreet Boys
). The album kicks off with the glorious
"I Need Love,"
a song that earned her U.S. exposure when the
ABC
daytime
drama
All My Children
used it as a love theme. Other highlights include
"Every Day Is a Monday,"
a
Europop
mainstream song laced with a wah-wah guitar, and the
Dion
-like
"Without You."
Pausini
is clearly influenced by
. Her voice doesn't soar to the heights that
reaches, but she comes close in songs such as
"If That's Love"
and
"Every Day Is a Monday."
Like most albums filled with love songs, "surrender" is a theme throughout
, especially in the funky
ballad
"Do I Dare"
and the
"Surrender."
This is one album to surrender to. ~ Christina Fuoco