Listen to a clip from Fuoco Nel Fuoco

Eros marks a new chapter in the Italian singer and composer Eros Ramazzotti's ever-growing international career. Offering a wider spectrum of Ramazzotti's musicianship and the combination of well-crafted compositions and outstanding performances, the album is a great work of serious contemporary pop music. The CD covers different rhythmic feels, reaching its climax with "Le Cose Della Vita," a song that perfectly suits Ramazzotti's talent. His vocal style is one of the trademark qualities of the whole collection: a nasal, simply recognizable approach with a lot of intimacy and a great sense of expression that find its roots in the great tradition of the Italian bel canto. Eros offers the right balance between the important melodic Italian tradition and the complexity of today's international pop music. Truly one of the most important releases on today's European pop scene, ready to find its own place in the American market. --Ernesto De Pascale

Ramazzotti uses an acoustic guitar to provide rhythm and a kind of alternative pop feel to it. His voice is very reminiscent of the lead singer of the Gypsy Kings, but he does not sing in that same style, preferring a more popish style. Eros Ramazzotti's album releases include such titles as Stilelibero (his newest complete album), Eros, Tutte Storie, and a new single titled Fuoco Nel Fuoco.

Guys hate him. Girls love him, but indisputably he is the soundtrack of daily life in Italy -- you'll hear him in shops, blasting from cinque-centos cruising piazzas, sung by groups of teenagers at the gelateria. Many Americans and other non-Italians who have spent time in Italy apologize first and confess second that they love Eros's music. He takes you back there with every song.

His latest album, Stile Libero delivers just what's expected of Ramazzotti -- smooth tracks peppered with his quirky voice -- a voice only the equally quirky Italian music market would allow ascension to stardom. Here Eros has managed once again to reinvent himself in keeping with current trends and has put out a truly pleasing, if not ground-breaking, collection of songs.

The offerings here are standard Ramazzotti: lite pop with romantic lyrics that, well, only make sense if you speak Italian. Of mention is the single "Fuoco nel Fuoco" ("Fire within the Fire"), which capitalizes on today's taste for Latin flourishes, combining a relaxed non-techno pace dotted with strains of Latin acoustic guitar. - Ali Hofflich CDNOW Contributing Writer