by Christina Fuoco
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 Dion. Her voice doesn't soar to the heights that Dion 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 From the Inside, especially in the funky ballad &Do I Dare& and the Europop &Surrender.& This is one album to surrender to.