It's the most underappreciated of Blondie's works, and despite the fact that much of it was forced out it's nowhere near as bad as it's made out to be.

The implication, I suppose, is that the pursuit of pleasure and excess finally overtakes the pursuer, and that you wind up lost on a spiral staircase of sensual diversion, left with only the diversion itself to contemplate. I love the dark simplicity of the final track, "The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game" which is a cover written by Smokey Robinson (performed by The Marvelettes). It ain't the worst thing I've heard in a while, but it's easily the worst Blondie album I've checked out so far, with potential strong cuts like "Dragonfly" getting tarnished with dumb moments, though I do like the Bond film toss-off. But even though band was coming apart at the seams emotionally, I still feel like the music on this record is solid and experimental, more so than any other Blondie album. The producers of the film, however, favored a track composed by Bill Conti and Michael Leeson and asked Blondie to record that song instead.Producer Mike Chapman (please read the short essay written by him in the liner notes) knew this would be the last Blondie record he would ever produce. This might explain the long 18-month gap between _Autoamerican_ and 1982's swansong _The Hunter_, the longest gap between any of the original six Blondie albums. And “The Beast” is this album’s rap number, ostensibly about a Godzilla-like creature whose nighttime peregrinations through a trendy urban underground are not far afield from those of his guitar-munching counterpart in “Rapture. The opening track is evident of that impeccable creativity, "Orchid Club" which is a heart-pounding, foot-stomping powerhouse!

I understand all the fuss and negative attention this album got over 30 years ago, but for me "The Hunter" is a thing of beauty (minus the hideous album cover). Yet the group is loathe to surrender completely the clout that chart-topping singles and platinum LPs have allowed it: amid the offbeat stylistic jumble of The Hunter, we find Blondie carefully hedging their bets, offering what amounts to cloned versions of the hits from Autoamerican. It was produced by Mike Chapman, who produced every Blondie album during their initial run with the only exceptions being the first two, Blondie and Plastic Letters. Two singles were released from the album, " Island of Lost Souls" and "War Child" (the latter of which was also released as a 12″ extended version). Blondie were contractually bound to deliver another new studio album to Chrysalis, and no amount of legal wrangling or attempts to get out of it worked.So Chris and Debbie took a gamble in prioritizing her solo career over the band and they lost badly.

With Autoamerican and, now, The Hunter, Blondie has become more difficult to enjoy, even as the group has strained to become something you can “appreciate. Orchid Club” summons you with tribal drumming that commences low, like something heard downriver, and then gets louder, as if you’d chanced upon some weird fertility rite. Songs like "(Can I) Find the Right Words (To Say)" aren't particularly memorable, but the subject matter - that of tackling crossword puzzles - must be one of the most bizarre foundations for a Blondie song. The trouble is, so intent is Blondie on making bold statements about contemporary malaise, and underscoring them with portentousness, that even on the most upbeat numbers you find that you’re reacting dispassionately (as in think, ponder, ruminate) as opposed to emotively (as in get up, dance, involve yourself).I adore the story, it's about a woman trying to play games with a man, and the woman ends up getting "played" by the man. Nor did it help that fans felt betrayed by the all the foolishness on Autoamerican and many did not feel inclined to go back for more. The Beast" deals with lead singer Debbie Harry's experiences of becoming a public figure: "I am the centre of attraction, by staying off the streets". English Boys" is sweetly serene, and contains some of Debbie's most introspective lyrics about how the world was changing during her formative years.