Schizophonic (Geri Halliwell album)

On 31 May 1998, it was announced that Halliwell had left girl group Spice Girls, with the singer claiming that she was suffering from exhaustion and wanted to take a break. However, rumours of a feud with fellow member Melanie Brown as the reason for her departure were circulated by the press.[2][3] Halliwell's departure from the group became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news headlines the world over.[4] The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on, and eventually continued the Spiceworld Tour without her in summer 1998.[5][6] In 2007, she stated on BBC One documentary Giving You Everything that she had "given all I could" and felt like she "didn't belong anymore. They didn't need me anymore, really, and I definitely felt very redundant."[7]

As a solo artist, Halliwell signed a three-album deal with EMI worth US$3 million, influenced by Robbie Williams' solo success after leaving Take That.[8] She then started developing her debut album, asking the Absolute production team—Paul Watson and Andy Watkins—who had already produced songs for the Spice Girls, for help. However, the four remaining girls from the Spice Girls said that if they worked with Halliwell, they could not work with them again. Eventually, the duo decided to work with the singer. The next year, she launched her solo career and released her debut album titled Schizophonic, which she described as "a cross between Julie Andrews and Johnny Rotten".[1]

The album's release was promoted with a documentary, Geri, which was directed by Molly Dineen and screened by Channel 4 on 5 May 1999, following Halliwell's life after her departure from the Spice Girls.[9] Later Halliwell admitted that "With hindsight, it was a mistake, but I was very out of sorts, I was lonely and I felt starved of friendship and intellectual company, which Molly gave me because she is so totally intellectual." While she does not regret doing the documentary, she hates the way she came across on camera and finds it "far too upsetting a prospect to even consider watching it again".[10]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
BBC News	mixed[12]
Entertainment Weekly	C[13]
The Independent	mixed[14]
The New Zealand Herald	[15]
NME	4/10[16]
People	favourable[17]
Rolling Stone	[18]

In his review for The Independent, Nicholas Barber declared Schizophonic "considerably more sophisticated and more obviously packed with hits than either of the Spice Girls' albums."[14] People called the album "flip, fun froth from a former Spice." The magazine wrote that "the self-worth, Girl Power sloganeering of her old group is replaced here by Halliwell’s plucky, self-deprecating statement of Geri-empowerment [...] Except for a few oversweetened ballads and two ill-advised forays into foreign (Latin and Indian) genres, Solo Girl comports herself well indeed."[17] Karen Schoemer from Rolling Stone remarked that Schizophonic "is more Girl Chutzpah than Girl Power. Geri seems intent on being all spices: sweet, salty, flirty, bossy [...] 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."[18]

AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that "unfortunately, Halliwell doesn't have strong collaborators, who know how to exploit her admittedly limited voice, so much of it falls a little flat musically. There are, however, cuts on Schizophonia [that] sparkle with a gleeful, unabashed love of pop and dance. Invariably, the album soars when it's upbeat [...] If Schizophonia doesn't work on some levels, it does succeed as a statement of purpose from the newly independent Halliwell."[11] Chris Charles, writing for BBC News, found that Schizophonic "sees Geri adopt – or attempt to adopt – so many alter-egos that it is difficult to pin-point which is the real her [...] This mixing and matching is Geri all over. One minute she's popping out of a skimpy Union jack number, the next she's the prissie librarian figure clutching her pampered pooch."[12] NME wrote that "Schizo-phonic, breaking every seduction rule of women’s magazines, is an act of pure desperation. Count the signs: the 60-piece orchestra; the Latino number; the plucky showstopper, the maudlin ballad. It’s clichid like a river of tears running past, yes, a mountain so high, yet when you’re trying to be all things to all people, that’s inevitable."[16]

In the United Kingdom, Schizophonic debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with sales of 35,000 copies.[19] It sold 483,853 in total, being certified two-times Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 600,000 copies.[20] In Canada, the album debuted and peaked at number 15. With strong long-term sales the album was certified Platinum with just over 100,000 copies shipped. In the United States, the album faced moderate success, selling 40,000 copies in its first week debuting and peaking at number 42 on the Billboard 200, the strongest Spice Girls solo showing on the chart. It shipped 500,000 copies and received a Gold certification in the country by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[21] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Schizophonic has sold 181,000 copies there as of July 2007.[22] The album was also certified Gold in Australia and Spain with shipments of over 35,000 and 50,000 copies, respectively.[23] However, the album only reached number 85 in Japan, selling 3,190 copies. As of August 1999, the album had sold 1.3 million copies worldwide.[24]

Three of the four singles from the album went to number one in the United Kingdom, while the debut single made number two. The lead single was "Look at Me", produced by Absolute and Phil Bucknall. "Look at Me" was followed by three number one singles in the UK Singles Chart; "Mi Chico Latino", "Lift Me Up", and "Bag It Up".

Schizophonic was released with two different covers, representing an angel (white), and a devil (red); both covers are the same edition of the album. On the first "O" on Schizophonic, there is an angel halo on the white cover and horns on the red cover. On the back cover, the song titles are written in both red and white, relating the theme of the song to one of the personalities. The booklet of the album features both covers on all editions, and the lyrics of the songs are included on the side that they are marked on the back cover.

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Schizophonic.[25]

All tracks are written by Geri Halliwell, Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson, except where noted.

• Geri Halliwell – vocals
• Absolute – all instruments
• Milton McDonald – guitar
• Phil Hudson – guitar (track 2)
• Paul 'P-Dub' Walton – engineer