"I envisioned my first commercial recordings of original music as a cross-section, a retrospective, of all my adult repertoire: thirty years of exploration crossing genres and cultures. So I picked compositions from my catalog with an eye for diversity, carefully selecting examples that would reflect all facets and influences. But I couldn't imagine forcing the rock tunes and fractured post-punk instrumentals onto the same album with the mostly acoustic folk and African-influenced songs. So I accumulated a list and split it down the middle into two albums.

"The title Take Me Up comes from the song Helicopter and resonates with my gospel roots and my longing for redemption when I've found myself straying from the path of righteousness."

Online release November 3, 2010

Track notes & lyrics:

Poetry in Motion

Bomba de Tiempo

Hand Over Hand

Caracas 52

Come On Over Whitey

Cairo

Nightcrawling

Plains of Abraham

Helicopter

Copyright © 2010-2011 Max Carmichael

"One of the best I have heard in a very long time...The lyrics, the melody, the rhythm...just absolutely sends my spirits soaring"

Philippe, Stanford University

"I've only listened to Take Me Up a few times now, once at home and a few times while driving the back roads of the Mojave Desert. With each listening I'm struck by the emerging depth of the lyrics and instrumentals. No two songs are the same but they flow nicely in the order presented. This album resonates with the honesty of a Lou Reed ("Come On Over Whitey") with the wit and irony of a Camper Van Beethoven ("Nightcrawler", "Helicopter"). But what stands out about Max Carmichael's tracks, especially the instrumentals, is a soulful mood that resembles one of my favorite bands, Calexico. Take Me Up is edgy while still easy on the ears. It takes one through the heart of the western lands and complex western cultures, taking occasional u-turns into the mindful confessions of an artist who has walked down both the beaten and unbeaten paths."

F. Duck, iTunes