''Decisions of the Sky: A Traveler's Tale of Sun and Storm'' is a collection of four studio tracks by

Blues Traveler Blues Traveler (formerly known as "The Establishment" or "The Black Cat Jam" or "The Establishment Blues Band") is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. They are known for extensive use of segues in live performance ...

. The songs were released online as a free digital EP

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

in the

fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Souther ...

of 2000.

Background

The EP was the first official release from the band after the death of bassist Bobby Sheehan and the subsequent addition of two new members. Prior to Sheehan's death, the band was planning to release a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

called ''The Sun, The Storm and the Traveler''. That album was abandoned and ''Decisions of the Sky'' was released in its place. The songs outline the story which was intended for the full-length album. In it, a young man goes to war while struggling with an internal emotional conflict over his relationship with a girl. The title is taken from the song "Decision of the Skies" (released on the Blues Traveler album ''

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

'') which was intended for the original concept album. The first three tracks were released commercially in 2012 on the Blues Traveler retrospective compilation release '' 25''. A live version of the final track, "The Path", was included on the band's album ''Live: What You and I Have Been Through'' and as a b-side on various sampler CDs.

Track listing

# "12 Swords" – 3:20 # "The Sun and the Storm" – 7:58 # "Traveler Suite" – 20:17 #* I. The Intro #* II. Setting Sun #* III. Color Me Gone #* IV. A Low Branch #* V. Pancho #* VI. A Low Branch (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repea ...

) #* VII. Color Me Gone (Reprise) #* VIII. Setting Sun (Reprise) # "The Path" – 6:14 The tracks were released on the band's website in October and November 2000, one per week. At one point, the band planned to also make the album available commercially as a CD release with an extra fifth track, but this was rejected by their record label. "The Sun and the Storm" is one of very few Blues Traveler songs that has never been performed live.

Artwork

The release of each track was accompanied by artwork from Rich Homburger depicting the theme of that song.

References

Blues Traveler albums Concept albums 2000 EPs Albums free for download by copyright owner {{2000-rock-album-stub