''Boats Against the Current'' is a 1977 album by

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. He was first known as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries. He had numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Rasp ...

. The title is taken from a line in the novel ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

'' by

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” It was Carmen's second solo LP, after the

Raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...

disbanded. It peaked at #45 on the Billboard album chart for the week ending October 8, 1977. The album yielded two charting singles, the title track as well as "

She Did It "She Did It" is a song written and originally recorded by Eric Carmen in 1977. Carmen's single was a Top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching number 23. "She Did It" was covered in 1981 by actor and singer Michael Damian, who reac ...

." "

" is the bigger hit from this album, which reached #23 '' Billboard'' and #15 '' Cash Box'', as well as #11 in Canada. The title track subsequently reached #88 ''Billboard'' and #92 ''Cash Box''. "Marathon Man" was released as a third single in March 1978 but failed to chart. "Love Is All That Matters" melody is lifted from

Tschaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's "Fifth Symphony, Second Movement." Guest musicians on this album included back-up vocals by several of the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

and Burton Cummings (formerly of

the Guess Who The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of " Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After ...

), guitar by

Andrew Gold Andrew Maurice Gold (August 2, 1951 – June 3, 2011) was an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who influenced much of the Los Angeles-dominated pop/soft rock sound in the 1970s. Gold played on scores of reco ...

, and drumming by

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...

and Toto's

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...

. The title song was covered by Frankie Valli on his 1977 LP '' Lady Put the Light Out''. "Boats Against the Current" was also covered in 1978 by

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

on her album '' Totally Hot'', and it was included as the B-side of her single release, "

Rest Your Love on Me "Rest Your Love on Me" is a country ballad performed by the Bee Gees written and sung by Barry Gibb. It was the B-side of the US No. 1 hit "Too Much Heaven". Andy Gibb recorded the song as a duet with Olivia Newton-John for his 1980 album '' Afte ...

." Patti LaBelle also included the song on her 1981 LP, '' The Spirit's in It''. As reported by

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...

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 Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...

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. The show was hosted by

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series '' Solid Go ...

& Billy Davis Jr.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Eric Carmen: # "Boats Against the Current" – 4:22 # "Marathon Man" – 3:55 # "Nowhere To Hide" – 5:05 # "Take It or Leave It" – 4:00 # "Love Is All That Matters" – 4:17 # "

" – 3:48 # "I Think I Found Myself" – 4:25 # "Run Away" – 8:05

Personnel

* Eric Carmen – lead vocals, acoustic piano, synthesizers (1, 2, 5-7), electric guitar (1, 4), string arrangements and conductor (1, 5),

electric harpsichord An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

(2, 3), drums (2), 12-string acoustic guitar (4), percussion (4-7), backing vocals (5-7), BGV arrangements (6) *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...

– synthesizers (2, 3, 5, 7, 8) * Richard Reising – acoustic guitar (2, 5), acoustic piano (4), electric guitar (4, 6, 8), guitar solo (4), backing vocals (4-7) *

Richie Zito Richie Zito (born August 21, 1952) is an American songwriter, composer and record producer from Los Angeles. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Zito has experienced success as a prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of ...

– acoustic guitar (2, 4, 5), electric guitar (4, 6, 8), backing vocals (4) *

– electric guitar solo (6), electric guitar (8) *

Dave Wintour David M. Wintour (1 September 1944 – 12 July 2022) was a British bass guitarist and session musician. Wintour was born on 1 September 1944 in Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire and died on 12 July 2022 in Drumnacross, Kilraine. Dave Wintour is be ...

– bass *

– drums (1, 5, 6) *

– drums (2-4, 7, 8), backing vocals (5-7) *

Gene Estes The Wrecking Crew was a loose collective of Los Angeles-based session musicians whose services were employed for a great number of studio recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, including hundreds of top 40 hits. The musicians were not publicly rec ...

– percussion (1-3, 8) * Ollie E. Brown – percussion (6, 8) *

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for f ...

– saxophone (4) *

Bobby Keys Robert Henry Keys (December 18, 1943 – December 2, 2014) was an American saxophonist who performed with other musicians as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harry Ni ...

– saxophone (4) * Tom Scott – saxophone (4, 7) * Steve Madaio – trumpet (4) * Paul Buckmaster – string arrangements and conductor (2, 3, 6, 8) * Burton Cummings – backing vocals (2) * Curt Becher – backing vocals (5-7) *

Joe Chemay Joe Chemay is an American bassist and background singer, known for his recording session work. Biography Chemay started out working as a session and touring support musician in Los Angeles, but moved to Nashville in 1989. Chemay has worked wi ...

– backing vocals (5-7) *

Bruce Johnston Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...

– backing vocals (5-7), BGV arrangements (5-7) * Brian Wilson – backing vocals (5-7)''Observer''. Going All the Way With Head Raspberry Eric Carmen: Ken Kurson, August 3, 2017
/ref>

Production

* Eric Carmen – producer, arrangements * Kevin Beamish – engineer * Larry Emerine – engineer * David Henson – engineer * Mark Howlett – engineer * Dennis Kirk – engineer * Tim Kramer – engineer *

Earle Mankey Earle Mankey (sometimes misspelled "Earl" in credits) (born March 8, 1947, in Washington, United States) is an American musician, record producer and audio engineer. He was a founding member and guitarist for the band Halfnelson, later called Sp ...

– engineer * Howard Steele – engineer *

Thom Wilson Thom Wilson (died February 8, 2015) was an American punk rock record producer and engineer. Career Wilson began his musical career in the mid-1970s, engineering recordings by soft rock artists Burton Cummings and Seals & Crofts. He began working ...

– engineer * Val Garay – mixing *

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charl ...

– mastering * Bob Heimall – art direction *

Ed Caraeff Ed Caraeff (born April 18, 1950) is an American photographer, illustrator and graphic designer, who has worked largely in the music industry. He has art directed, photographed and designed more than 400 record album covers from 1967 to 1981 for ...

– design, photography * Benno Friedman – inside photography effects * Norman Adams – inside artwork * Michael Manoogian – calligraphy Studios * Recorded at Crystal Sound and Studio 55 (Los Angeles, California); The Sound Factory (Hollywood, California);

Brother Studios Brother Studios (later renamed Crimson Sound) was the name of a recording studio located at 1454 5th St, Santa Monica, California established by brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, co-founders of the Beach Boys. History Brother Studios ...

(Santa Monica, California). * Mixed at The Sound Factory * Mastered at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California).

Charts

References

{{Authority control Eric Carmen albums 1977 albums Albums arranged by Paul Buckmaster Arista Records albums