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.

Guest musicians on this album included back-up vocals by Brian Wilson and Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys and Burton Cummings (formerly of the Guess Who), guitar by Andrew Gold, and drumming by Nigel Olsson and Toto's Jeff Porcaro.

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 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.

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.