while "Sometime" offers a canned-sounding gospel chorus. "Lift Me Up" is simple, effervescent pop. (Imagine several incarnations of Madonna compressed into one album: "La Isla Bonita," "Shanti/Ashtangi," "Like a Prayer," "Cherish.") Geri's voice is flat and unsyncopated -- she puts syllables in the darnedest places between the beat -- but it has a surprising, undeniable charm. She's like a really enthusiastic impersonator, so anxious to win you over that you give in.
Schizophonic doesn't reveal any hidden talents. We always knew Geri would hang onto the pop landscape for dear life. Hey, let her. (RS 816-817)
KAREN SCHOEMER