| The Hunter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 24, 1982 | |||
| Recorded | December 1981–February 1982 | |||
| Studio | The Hit Factory (New York City) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:56 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis | |||
| Producer | Mike Chapman | |||
| Blondie chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Hunter | ||||
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The Hunter is the sixth studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on May 24, 1982, by Chrysalis Records. It was Blondie's last album of new material until 1999's No Exit . It was recorded between December 1981 and February 1982.
The Hunter, as stated in the press release, is loosely a concept album based on the theme of "searching, hunting, or pursuing one's own Mt. Everest." [3] Tracks on the album include Jimmy Destri's Motown pastiche "Danceway", while "Dragonfly" has a science-fiction theme to its lyrics about a race in space. "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 Harry and Chris Stein's melancholy tribute to "those English boys who had long hair", the Beatles, recorded the year after John Lennon's assassination in New York City, describing the innocence and idealism of the 1960s. "War Child" references military conflicts in Cambodia and the Middle East. The album concludes with a cover version of Smokey Robinson's "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game", originally recorded by the Marvelettes in 1967.
The song "For Your Eyes Only" was originally written for the 1981 James Bond film of the same name. The producers of the film, however, favored a track composed by Bill Conti and Michael Leeson and asked Blondie to record that song instead. When Blondie declined, the Conti/Leeson song was passed on to Sheena Easton. Blondie opted to release their song (written by Harry and Stein) on The Hunter. [4]
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). "Danceaway" was planned for release as a single in Canada (backed with "For Your Eyes Only"), but was issued only extremely briefly before the single was withdrawn. Videos for "Island of Lost Souls" and "English Boys" were produced.
In the liner notes to the 2001 reissue of The Hunter, producer Mike Chapman stated, "I knew that we were in a different and far less accessible artistic space. And that worried me. I could tell that things were different now, and I knew that this would be the last Blondie album."
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C [5] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 4/10 [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 1/10 [1] |
The album peaked at No. 9 in the UK, No. 15 in Australia and No. 33 in the US. Compared to Blondie's three previous albums with Mike Chapman as producer ( Parallel Lines , Eat to the Beat and Autoamerican ), The Hunter proved to be a disappointment, both commercially and critically, with mixed reviews. [10] Six months after its release, the band splintered. The summer Tracks Across America Tour '82 was set to promote the album but turned out to be unsuccessful. The band's European tour which was due to follow in autumn was cancelled. [11]
The Hunter received a poor reception from music critics. [7] In The Boston Phoenix , Deborah Frost said "Blondie’s sixth album makes the most of the band’s pretensions and the least of its pop instincts ... Where’s the hint of intelligence, the thimbleful of inspiration, the shred of evidence that might suggest these songs weren't picked up at a fire sale? ... once again, Blondie is a joke." [12]
Retrospectively, William Ruhlmann of AllMusic complains that the album sounds like the contractual obligation it is, largely awash with "funk-rock tracks with the barest of melodies", and incoherent or impenetrable lyrics. He said "The Hunter found them running short conceptually as well practically. It was a disappointing end." [2] Critics from Trouser Press write that the group's "excitement about musical recombination had simply degenerated into a polished but sterile capability of manipulating a wide variety of stylistic devices." They dismiss the album for being aimless and lumbering, with a "largely impenetrable pretentiousness" reminiscent of the bands Yes and Jefferson Starship. [13]
In Christgau's Record Guide (1990), Robert Christgau called it "a lousy record by any standard--the pop, the eclectic, even the arty." [5] Rob Sheffield of the Spin Alternative Record Guide (1995) dismissed both The Hunter and its predecessor, Autoamerican, for being "bogged down in increasingly fussy and belabored art-rock." [1] Marc Coleman and Ario Berger of The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) criticised The Hunter for its "distracted" content, [9] while in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2011), Colin Larkin describes the album as "a generally disappointing set which Harry completed under duress". [6]
The Hunter was digitally remastered and reissued by Chrysalis Records UK in 1994, and again by EMI-Capitol in 2001, both times with the 12″ version of "War Child" as the only bonus track.
All lyrics are written by Deborah Harry, except where noted
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Orchid Club" | Nigel Harrison | 5:44 |
| 2. | "Island of Lost Souls" | Chris Stein | 4:44 |
| 3. | "Dragonfly" | Stein | 5:58 |
| 4. | "For Your Eyes Only" | Stein | 3:05 |
| 5. | "The Beast" | Stein | 4:50 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "War Child" | Harrison | 4:00 | |
| 7. | "Little Caesar" | Stein | 2:57 | |
| 8. | "Danceway" | Jimmy Destri | Destri | 3:16 |
| 9. | "(Can I) Find the Right Words (To Say)" | Destri | 3:04 | |
| 10. | "English Boys" | Stein | 3:46 | |
| 11. | "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" | Smokey Robinson | Robinson | 3:32 |
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "War Child" (extended version) | Harrison | 7:58 |
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Hunter. [14]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [26] | Gold | 20,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Blondie is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the American new wave genre and scene of the mid-1970s.
Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on September 8, 1978, by Chrysalis Records. An instant critical and commercial success, the album reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in February 1979 and proved to be the band's commercial breakthrough in the United States, where it reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in April 1979. In Billboard magazine, Parallel Lines was listed at No. 9 in its top pop albums year-end chart of 1979. The album spawned several successful singles, notably the international hit "Heart of Glass".
No Exit is the seventh studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on February 15, 1999, by Beyond Music. It was the band's first album in 17 years and features the UK number-one single "Maria". As of March 2006, the album had sold two million copies worldwide.
Jimmy Destri is an American musician.
Blondie is the debut studio album by American rock band Blondie, released in December 1976 by Private Stock Records.
Plastic Letters is the second studio album by American rock band Blondie, released in February 1978 by Chrysalis Records. An earlier version with a rearranged track listing was released in Japan in late December 1977.
Eat to the Beat is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on September 28, 1979, by Chrysalis Records. The album was certified Platinum in the United States, where it spent a year on the Billboard 200. Peaking at No. 17, it was one of Billboard's top 10 albums of 1980. It also reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in October 1979 and has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"War Child" is a 1982 song by the American rock band Blondie, featured on their sixth studio album The Hunter. The song was released as a second single from the album in various countries, but not in the band's native US. There is no music video for this single.
Autoamerican is the fifth studio album by American rock band Blondie. It was released in November 1980 and reached No. 3 in the UK charts, No. 7 in the US, and No. 8 in Australia. The album spawned two singles, "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture". "The Tide Is High" hit number one in several countries, including the US and the UK. "Rapture" became the first rap song ever to reach number one on the singles chart in the US. It also reached number five in the UK and number four in Australia.
"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover version by the American band Blondie became a US and UK number one hit. The song topped the UK Singles Chart again in 2002 with a version by the British girl group Atomic Kitten, while Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall had a minor hit with his interpretation in 2008.
"Rapture" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their fifth studio album Autoamerican (1980). Written by band members Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, and produced by Mike Chapman, the song was released as the second and final single from Autoamerican on January 12, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Musically, "Rapture" is a combination of new wave, disco and hip hop with a rap section forming an extended coda.
The Best of Blondie is the first greatest hits album by American rock band Blondie. It was released in October 1981, by Chrysalis Records. The album peaked at number four in the United Kingdom and number 30 in the United States, while becoming the band's only number-one album in Australia.
"Maria" is a song by American rock band Blondie. The song was written by Blondie keyboardist Jimmy Destri and produced by Craig Leon. Taken from their seventh album, No Exit (1999), it was Blondie's first new release since 1982. "Maria", issued as a single in Europe on January 11, 1999, reached number one in the United Kingdom; Blondie's sixth UK chart-topper. The song also topped the charts of Greece and Spain, becoming a top-20 hit across Europe and in New Zealand.
KooKoo is the debut solo album by American singer Debbie Harry, released on July 27, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, the album was recorded whilst Harry took a break from her band Blondie. It was a moderate commercial success, reaching number 25 on the US Billboard 200 and number six on the UK Albums Chart.
The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie is a greatest hits album released on March 4, 1991, by Chrysalis Records. It contained all of Blondie's highest-charting singles such as "Heart of Glass", "Sunday Girl", "The Tide Is High", "Atomic", and "Call Me", as well as some of Deborah Harry's solo singles, including the UK top-10 single "French Kissin' in the USA".
Blonde and Beyond is a compilation album of recordings by Blondie released on Chrysalis Records in 1993.
The Platinum Collection is a two disc compilation album of recordings by Blondie released by EMI/Chrysalis in 1994. The forty-seven track compilation contains the A- and B-sides of all singles issued by the band in the U.S. and the UK between the years 1976 and 1982 in chronological order, five demo recordings made before the release of their debut album including an alternative version of "Heart of Glass", as well as two 1994 dance remixes of their hits "Atomic" and "Rapture".
The liner notes contain extensive interviews with band members Clem Burke, Jimmy Destri, Nigel Harrison, Frank Infante and Gary Valentine.
Atomic: The Very Best of Blondie is a greatest hits album by American rock band Blondie, released on July 13, 1998, by Chrysalis Records, at the time when the band reunited and shortly before the beginning of their successful comeback tour.
Heart on a Wall is a solo album by Blondie keyboardist and composer Jimmy Destri, released on Chrysalis Records in 1981. It remains unreleased on compact disc.
The Tracks Across America Tour '82 was a concert tour by the American band Blondie in 1982. The tour supported their latest album, The Hunter and would be Blondie's last tour before disbanding in late 1982. The band would reconvene in the late 1990s.
'For Your Eyes Only' (Blondie, 1981). The New York-based rock group was briefly under consideration to perform the movie theme before Sheena Easton was chosen.
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