For someone most people claim to hate, Geri Halliwell has a history to be proud of. She is, after all, one of the UK's most successful female performers, with 13 #1s to her name. Admittedly she's not the world's best singer, but her boldand brassy routine had something thatoncemade us love her. That is until the disastrous sales of 2001's Scream If You Want To Go Faster. Will Passion, album #3, return her to a place to the heart of British culture?

The pop world of todayis very different to the one inwhich Geriflourished at the end of the last century. Now the charts are filled with mediocre MORtypeslike Embrace, Coldplay & Athlete. Even S-Club and Steps seem a distant memory, but the Spice Girls - who were they?

Geri mighthave responded to this by going all moody and mysterious (though it's a little hard to imagine), but - to her credit - she's stuck to her roots and Passion has no aspirations to being a serious, sophisticated album. With tracks such as "Superstar" sporting the lyric 'Oooh baby, I love your hot action', we know exactly where she is coming from!

The album is book ended with two Musical numbers which souldlike Geri is doing a public audition to be the latest celebrity in Chicago. Fortunately the rest of the disc is full of more typical Geri fare, with camp dancefloor classics and ballads aplenty.

"Love Never Loved Me" is the standout fast track and expected 3rd single. If it were 2001, this would be number 1 without question.Now it'llprobably only be heard at the tackiest of discos. Surprisingly the best track is a ballad, the stunning "Let Me Love You More". Here we can really hear howmuch Geri's voice has improvedin the last 4 years.

But this is an album born out of its time, 5 years ago it would have been a sure-fire hit - now it'll be lucky if it goes top 30. Still, if the new Coldplay album bores you to death, this might just be the perfect antidote...