Bob Carpenter was born on a reservation near Tamagami ON (he was Half Ojibway) and recorded the tracks for Silent Passage between 1971 and 1974 in both Toronto and LA. A contractual dispute with Warner Brothers caused the LP to be shelved until 1984 when Holger Petersen (head of Stony Plain records) obtained the rights and released it to little acclaim - by this point Carpenter had quit the music business to become a Buddhist monk.
The LP has background vocals by Anne Murray, Emmylou Harris & Dianne Brooks and contributions from Lowell George, Bill Payne, Buddy Cage and others - it was produced by legendary Canadian producer Brian Ahern (who married Harris). Bob Carpenter had been a sailor and there is a nautical theme throughout - the LP cover depicts Gustave Doré’s etching from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and is evocative of what’s inside.
The arrangements are top notch and his lyrics and voice fit together; think of a world-weary Cat Stevens perhaps. The album was given a lovely re-issue in 2014 on the No Quarter label with liner notes from Brian Ahern. It’s a complete gem of an album and very highly recommended. Here is “Morning Train”: