It’s been a mere half a year since Penticton, BC-based singer/songwriter Howard Lee Naylor released his sophomore album x COVID-19 passion project, Songs from Isolation, and he’s already back in the recording studio with his newly reimagined release of “Those Summer Days.”
Calling back to a simpler, more enjoyable time, the summer, when family, friends, and lovers are able to congregate under the sun together — whether by the pool, beach, or over a nice dinner with a few beverages in hand.
The Penticton-based classic rock musician remastered the long-time fan-favourite to brilliant results; it’s seasonal sonic ecstasy is set to soothe the soul, and ears, of music-lovers nationwide during these continued trying times.
Initially written for his 2017 album, Possibilities, Naylor intended “Those Summer Days” to serve as an homage to the comforting and reminiscent sounds of The Beach Boys — which he did a remarkable job in achieving. The tireless entertainer even references them in the bridge of the song: “Take me back to a Beach Boys song / Wendy, nothing went that wrong,” he sings.
So why remaster it, some might ask? Well, as a perfectionist, Naylor believed the foot-tapper needed a new and enhanced mix — one that had a little more “depth” and carried a “rich” bass tone, to vividly convey his inspiration. What remains steadfast in both versions are Naylor’s smooth vocal harmonies and clean, yet rapid-fire guitar melodies that’ll take you right back to the sunshiney glory of the 1960s.
Though he himself hasn’t been able to enjoy the sun as much as he had hoped to in the last year and a half, Howard Lee Naylor has spent the better portion of the global pandemic in the studio, working on not just this crisp remaster of “Those Summer Days,” but his second album too.
It wasn’t long after the social distancing restrictions were first put in place that Naylor reached out to his producer, Ian Lopez, in hopes to record the new tracks. “The stay at home order got really boring, but thank God I make music,” he smiles.
Rather than record just one single, Lopez suggested Naylor do an entirely new album — which eventually became Songs from Isolation. Happy with the result of the ten-track project, Naylor admitted he was proud of the results, describing his new originals — which includes ‘Sweet Jeanine’ — as “songs from the heart and isolation.”
“Those Summer Days” and Songs from Isolation are available now.
