The Book of Daniel (album)
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The Book of Daniel or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Be the Bomb, more commonly known as The Book of Daniel, is the eighth studio album from Atlanta recording artist and producer Danny!. GQ Magazine was the first to report about the album[1] originally titled "Deliverance"; The Book of Daniel was slated for a Leap Day 2016 release and is Danny!'s first since 2012's Okayplayer LP Payback under the tutelage of Questlove of The Roots.
According to an ambiguous press statement released by a spokesperson for Kanye West,[2] The Book of Daniel is either a companion piece to, or a rival record of, West's similarly-titled The Life of Pablo; it should be noted that The Book of Daniel was available for pre-order as early as December 2015[3] while West's The Life of Pablo wasn't given its title—and was still in production—until February of the following year.
Background
Produced entirely by Danny! himself, The Book of Daniel is named after the 27th book in the modern Christian Bible, with whom Danny!'s birth name also shares a source, and features twelve songs to match the twelve chapters of the album's namesake. The record also mirrors the biblical chapter's motif of overcoming excessive hardship; in the years since, and preceding, the release of Payback, Danny! had experienced divorce, depression, homelessness and subsequent alcohol dependency. As such, the album's themes are notably darker and, by Danny!'s own admission, "sadder" in contrast to previous offerings in his discography; up until 2012, he has quipped, "[I] hadn't really gone through sh*t.".[4] The subtitle of The Book of Daniel is a reference to the Stanley Kubrick-directed film "Dr. Strangelove".[4]
Content
In a recent interview, Danny! acknowledged the fusion of musical genres such as folk, pop, gospel and psychedelic rock into the overall sound of the album as "Supa Dupa Fly meets Odelay meets Stoneground Words meets St. Elsewhere meets Blue meets Stankonia, with a smidgen of Paul's Boutique". The realization that personal happiness stems from accepting "[life] is all bullshit" is one of the album's main themes, and is repeated often throughout the entirety of the LP. The "weeping man" on The Book of Daniel artwork is from the cover of The Drifters' 1968 compilation album Golden Hits for the single "I Count The Tears".
Promotion
In anticipation for the new album, Danny! leaked a snippet of "Sweet Virginia" on his once-defunct Tumblr blog in early November 2015,[5] followed by daily instrumental cues shared on his Instagram page leading up to the album's release date. In February the single "Constellations" premiered on FADER two weeks prior to the album's original release date.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sinner's Silhouette" | Produced by Danny! | 8:01 |
| 2. | "Hell(o)!" | Produced by Danny! | 5:17 |
| 3. | "Rage Against The Machine" | Produced by Danny! | 4:57 |
| 4. | "Deliverance" | Produced by Danny! | 3:15 |
| 5. | "Unforgivable / Mama, I'm Sorry" | Produced by Danny! | 5:16 |
| 6. | "Why Not" | Produced by Danny! | 4:04 |
| 7. | "Getting Over You" | Produced by Danny! | 4:25 |
| 8. | "Love U 2 Much" | Produced by Danny! | 5:22 |
| 9. | "(They're Gonna) Let You Down" | Produced by Danny! | 4:39 |
| 10. | "Do It (Black Zombie, Pt. 2)" | Produced by Danny! | 4:57 |
| 11. | "Goodbye (Cruel World)" | Produced by Danny! | 9:39 |
| 12. | "Savior" | Produced by Danny! | 4:00 |
| No. | Title | Music | Sample(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Constellations" (Swain) | Produced by Danny! | 3:40 | |
| 14. | "TCB (feat. Phonte)" (Swain) | Produced by Danny! | Contains a sample of "Runnin' Away", as performed by Sly and the Family Stone. | 4:15 |
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "It Goes On" (Swain) | Produced by Danny! | 2:18 |
| 14. | "Love Attacks (feat. Michael Dean)" (Swain) | Produced by Danny! | 2:51 |
See also
References
- ^ Phili, Stelios (2014-03-05). "The GQ+A". GQ. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Saul, Heather (2016-02-10). "Our only comment is T.L.O.P. will be in stores February 11 and The Book Of Daniel will be in stores 29 February". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Swain, Danny (2015-12-12). "Pre-Order The Book Of Daniel". Instagram. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Jeffries, David (2013-03-11). "Danny!: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Swain, Daniel (2015-11-26). "Sweet Virginia (demo)". Tumblr. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
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