Boats Against the Current is a 1977 album by Eric Carmen. The title is taken from a line in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”[1] It was Carmen's second solo LP, after the Raspberries disbanded. It peaked at #45 on the Billboard 200 for the week ending October 8, 1977.[2]
The album yielded two charting singles, the title track as well as "She Did It." "She Did It" is the bigger hit from this album, which reached #23 Billboard and #15 Cash Box, as well as #11 in Canada.[3] The title track subsequently reached #88 Billboard and #92 Cash Box.[4] "Marathon Man" was released as a third single in March 1978 but failed to chart. The "Love Is All That Matters" melody is lifted from Tchaikovsky's "Fifth Symphony, Second Movement."
As reported by Casey Kasem on the American Top 40 program of October 15, 1977, Boats Against the Current cost $375,000 to produce, six times the average cost for an album of that era. The LP had a series of false starts. Across six months starting in February 1977, three sessions with Elton John's producer Gus Dudgeon were undertaken using recording studios in London, Cleveland, and Los Angeles, but were all scrapped. Carmen then took over the production efforts himself before the tracks were complete and he was satisfied.
Live performances
Carmen performed three tracks from the LP ("She Did It," "Boats Against the Current" and "Marathon Man") on The Midnight Special television program (season 6, episode 5) on October 14, 1977.[5] The show was hosted by Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.
Reviewing a reissue, Goldmine wrote that "the title track is at once lyrically depressing and musically uplifting, while 'Love Is All That Matters' and 'Nowhere to Hide' are both under-rated, piano-dominated gems."[7]
The title track was released as a single and reached #88 on the Billboard Hot 100.[8]Billboard recommended the song.[9]AllMusic critic Michael Ofjord praised the song and said that it's "an adult song about love lost and the illusions that people cling to (though Carmen has said it is actually inspired by the breakup with producer Jimmy Ienner)."[10]Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated the title track to be Carmen's greatest solo song, stating that "It is one of the most heartbreaking breakup songs ever written. It’s genuine, sad, and an amazing work of art."[11]
Recorded at Crystal Sound and Studio 55 (Los Angeles, California); The Sound Factory (Hollywood, California); Brother Studios (Santa Monica, California).
Mixed at The Sound Factory
Mastered at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California).
^Kent, David (1975). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 55. ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.
