WEA
Pop, 2000

I know Laura Pausini is a bestselling Italian songstress, but Tra Te E Il Mare (Between You and the Sea), my introduction to her, is a pretty middle-of-the-road adult contemporary album. Think Celine Dion. Ms Pausini even included an English track, The Extra Mile, a pleasant Olympic-triumph anthem that I can easily imagine her belting out in a stadium.

Unlike Ms Dion, Ms Pausini has a great voice yet she restrains her vocal acrobatics to listenable threshold. My favorite is Il Mio Sbaglio Più Grande because it is a rather uptempo tune, slightly different from the other mostly radio-friendly anthems in here.

There are many pleasant, inoffensive music in Tra Te E Il Mare that will be perfect for easy-listening. But like many things easy on the soul and safe, out of sight (or in this case, ears), out of mind.