While the recording is new for Daniels, the genre is not.
"Bluegrass is the oldest genre I've dealt in. When I first started playing, that's what I started with," Daniels said, adding that Lester Flatt and Earl Scuggs were played on the local radio shows he listened to as a teen.
Some of bluegrass' most famous names played on this project, including Ricky Skaggs, Mac Wiseman, The GrooveGrass Boyz (Ronnie & Rob McCoury and others) and Scruggs.
"Not every musician understands bluegrass. ... You either get it or you don't. ... There's an intangible there. I don't know how to put it. It's a feel - when to come in, when to lay back. It's not carved in stone, it's very innovative.
"While I certainly don't consider myself any kind of virtuoso, I am thankful that I at least 'get it,'" Daniels said.
Songs From The Longleaf Pines begins with Daniels reciting John 3:16 from the Bible before he and the musicians begin a lively rendition of "Walking In Jerusalem."
Along with bluegrass versions of classics such as "I'll Fly Away" and "How Great Thou Art," and other songs, additional Bible verses are peppered throughout the recording, a testimony to Daniels' faith walk.
"I don't want any confusion. I want people to know I am a Christian. I am a believer," he said.
With a new album on the shelves, Daniels already is planning another musical project, one, he said, that can't be easily described.
"The next record is so different. ... I've already got about four songs. I'm not in any hurry to do it. As the music comes to me, as I write it and work it out with the band, I will record it. If I mention a genre of music, it will mislead you. I've got fill stuff, some guitar stuff."
The project will be released on Daniels' own Blue Hat Records, a label he started in 1997.
The label's first project, Blues Hat, yielded a remake of Daniels' "Long Haired Country Boy," with special guests Hal Ketchum and John Berry, and earned a nomination for CMA Vocal Event of the Year.
Ten additional albums have followed from Blue Hat, bringing CDB fans a plethora of music, including Christmas songs, a greatest hits collection, a live album, Volunteer Jam performances and new tunes.
Daniels, who says he does as he wants musically, is in a place he's earned after more than 30 years on the road as a major recording artist. "I'm at that stage, I'm just totally into music. Basically what I'm concerned with is getting down what I create," Daniels said. "I chop the musical log and let the chips fall where they may."