Claresholm bassist/ country singer Shane Chisholm’s new CD “ Hitchhiking Buddah,” brings old school country into the twenty-first century.
In addition to  a really cool vintage sound, a strong Canadian theme throughout, steel guitar and plenty of fiddle, Chisholm’s voice also has a Randy Travis timbre. He sings the type of melodies you want to hear over and over again.
 Chisholm and his band are Nashville ready, but I hope he will always stay true to who he is , as his music  has his own indelible stamp on it, on his own songs as well as his choice of covers.
There are a lot of toe-tapping barn burners beginning with the upbeat, rockabilly infused “Tundra and Tacoma,” as as well as a few down home mournful ballads like “Living out Our Name.”
Some highlights include the upbeat title track “ Hitchhiking Buddah and “Kicking Up Dust. ” Another highlight is “Takin’ Out the Trash,” an old school murder ballad, featuring a fascinating karmic tornado with a French cabaret style accordion melody.
“Hitchhiking Buddah” is chock full of country licks and soothing melodies, a lot of wit and very visual, ear-opening lyrics.
One of the best is his rockabilly infused version of Hank William’s “Kawliga.”
The supremely catchy “Songs About Love” should be a hit single. It sounds like  a long lost old school Hoyt Axton track, complete with steel guitar and fiddle solo.
And to show how good the band is, they redo Poison’s ’80s  ballad “Every Rose Has its Thorn,” except putting a traditional country spin on it and adding duet vocals from Lynae Dufresne, making it sound like what this horrible ballad should have sounded in the first place. It sounds like a Shane Chisholm song instead of a cover.
 He even has Duane Steele singing on  “After You’re Gone.”
One of my favourites is the first “bonus track”, “I Got Nothing,” which has superb bluesy lyrics with a touch of wit . It’s about losing the farm, then getting mugged  and has the ghost of Johnny Cash hovering nearby.
He ends the CD by countrifying,  plus adding a touch of Celtic to Big Sugar’s “All Hell For A Basement.”
Chisholm has received several CCMA nominations for  “album design of the year,” “Special Instrument” as well as for “roots artist of the year.”
CD: Hitchhiking Buddah
Artist: Shane Chisholm
Genre: country
Record Label: none