Schizophonic

Geri Halliwell (Capitol)
Reviewed by Steve Dougherty

Mine the best bits from the Spice Girls' two-album conon and you will have the basic ingredients for this brightly produced, good-humored pop confection from Spice World's lone escapee. The saucy Girl formerly known as Ginger Spice is a saucy 26-year-old woman now. The self-worth, Girl Power sloganeering of her old group is replaced here by Halliwell's plucky, self-deprecating statment of Geri-empowerment in the irresistable opening track, "Look At Me." And in place of G-rated spie, Geri fli rts with an R on the equally infectious "Bag It Up" and "Goodnight Kiss," in which she sings, "Tonight I might let you in... but if you don't treat me right, it's just going to end as a goodnight kiss." Except for a few oversweetened ballads and two ill-advised forays into foreign (Latin and Indian) genres, Solo Girl comports herself well indeed. Bottom Line: Flip, fun froth from a former Spice