01	Steel Monkey						03:37
	02	Farm On The Freeway						06:31
	03	Jump Start						04:55
	04	She Said She Was A Dancer						03:41
	05	Dogs In The Midwinter						04:29
	06	Budapest						10:05
	07	Mountain Men						06:21
	08	The Waking Edge						04:47
	09	Raising Steam						04:12
	10	Part Of The Machine						06:54

Ian Anderson - vocals, flute, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drum programming, percussion, keyboards
Martin Barre - lead guitars, acoustic guitar
Dave Pegg - bass guitar

With:

Doane Perry - drums (2, 7)
Gerry Conway - drums (3, 4, 6, 8)
Ric Sanders - violin (6)



Crest of a Knave - Ian's Reflections

Yes – the album that won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal!

Said She Was A Dancer? Hard Rock? Farm On The Freeway? Metal? Well, hardly, chaps, but thanks for the accolade to the voting members of the National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences who voted for Tull in the (practically speaking) category of Best Nice Bunch Of Guys Who Haven’t Won A Grammy Before.

Not exactly stirring the hostile and bilious juices of the media for being nominated in the category in the first place, I can only suppose that no-one – including our record Company, Chrysalis Records – thought there was even a remote chance that we would actually win the wretched thing. But poor old Alice Cooper, accepting the prize on our behalf since Chrysalis felt unable to shell out for the airfares for us to come to the awards, had to endure the chorus of boos and sneers from media and Metallica fans alike as the winner was announced.

The hard work and dedication from Chrysalis promo guy, Kevin Sutter, had paid off with a certified gold album and two heavy rotation videos on the fledgeling MTV. Steel Monkey, with its passing nod to the great ZZ Topsters, opened the album with its rapid-fire sequenced piano intro, while the best Classic Tull song ever – Budapest – provided both brain and brawn on record and subsequent live performance alike.

The first Tull record to be mastered on digital media, Crest combined the best of Martin’s guitar and my flute in the harmony and unison phrasing evident in songs like Farm On The Freeway and Jumpstart.

Doane Perry made his drumming debut here – not on the whole album – but on a couple of tracks – while Gerry Conway returned briefly to the fold for some drum additions elsewhere.

The keyboards were all mine on this record and were (necessarily) kept simple and atmospheric. Apart from two tracks the record was recorded and mixed in my home studio with Matin Barre playing most of the guitar parts and searing solos through a 15 Watt single 12’” speaker Marshall mini combo amp. Very Metal touch, that……

The album cover artwork was by an Heraldic design artist specializing in creating crests and seals for eminent gentlepersons bent upon consigning themselves to posterity with a personal touch to decorate the mantle or letterhead. With tongues in cheek, we invented some motifs more suitable to the task. Black cat, flute and other emblems made up the crest and gave us a nice tour T-shirt too.

Many years later, Crest Of A Knave remains one of my personal favourite albums and with pleasure, I dedicate this remaster to Martin Barre, longstanding Tull guitar player whose brilliant playing gives this record so much of its special qualities.

Ian Anderson
2004





~ Crest Of A Knave ~

(1)



An introduction to "Crest Of A Knave"

In September 1987, three years after the release of the innovative yet controversial "Under Wraps", a new album that would put Jethro Tull back in the spotlight again, saw daylight: "Crest Of A Knave". The title played on the phrase "crest of a wave" and was thought of when the artwork of the cover was ready.

Anderson wrote all the songs himself, without the cooperation of the other band members, and most of the album was recorded at his home studio. He explains: "I was very, very selfish about making this one. I really just didn't want anybody else to have any creative input on it all, other than playing the final parts in the studio. The last few albums involved the other guys quite a lot, in the arranging and in writing bits of music, and I felt this time that I wanted to get away from having input from other people - not because I thought I could do it better, but just because I wanted to be very selfish about it and take total charge" (1, p. 137).

This quote doesn't however give a motivation for what Ian here calls his selfishness. I'm under the impression, that Ian realised that the next album would be a "go or no go" for Jethro Tull. If he would not be able to stop the process of alienation between the band and its fan-base - that started after the big split in 1979 and increased through the keyboard dominated albums that followed, in spite of their ingenuity - there would be no future for Jethro Tull at all. He had to embark on a new course that would make it possible to write innovative music on one hand, while on the other hand the music would by the fans be recognisable as the "Tull music" they loved.

Looking back from todays viewpoint I tend to consider the early eighties as a hazardous period for Tull in which Anderson went through a musical identity crisis. He must have noticed that Jethro Tull at that time couldn't keep up with the fast technical and musical developments in popular music, the decreasing fan-base and the lack of appeal with regard to a new generation of youngsters. And on top of that he must have felt insecure about the musical future of the band now that the Stormwatch album turned out to be the final station of the course the band had chosen in the mid-seventies.

With the exception of the "Broadsword" album we subsequently see an overreaction in the form of three keyboard dominated albums ("A", "Walk Into Light", "Under Wraps"), brimmed with new technology like samplers, sequencers and drum-machines, a lot of experimenting - almost desperately - as to pave new paths to the future. In this process Peter-John Vettese played an important role. And though these albums were/are deserving in their own right - since they contain some of Ian's finest work - they exhausted both band and fans. The concerts of those days reflected this, showing a band stumbling over their own ambition and complexity.... Or to put it in the words of a Dutch newspaper in those days: "Jethro loses grip for wanting too much" (Elly de Waard in De Volkskrant).

For most former very popular and lasting bands this situation was the breaking point in their career eventually leading to their demise - we know what this did for Led Zeppeling and Deep Purple. Not for Tull though, as we will see.



So it was time "for something completely different" and yet all too familiar. All those years of experimenting had made Ian familiar with using samplers and sequencers. He now mastered the new technologies to an extent where he could apply them in his music in a more well-balanced manner, thus creating room for both Martin's guitar and his own flute playing as well.. Since Peter-Jon Vettese was not available, Ian decided to play all the keyboard parts himself. The songs were cast in lower keys to meet Ian's limited vocal range - an unpleasant souvenir of the "Under Wraps" tour - and to make them "performable" on stage.
The outcome was a collection of ripe, warm, melodious and transparant songs, new in their musical shaping yet familiar in the overall sound: sturdy rock songs like "Steel Monkey", "Farm On The Freeway", "Jump Start", delicate songs like "Said She Was A Dancer" and "The Waking Edge". And than of course the virtuosity of "Budapest" that outclasses all the other songs on the album. They all featured Martin's beautiful guitar work, Ian's expanding fluteplaying abilities and his warm vocals. At last, Jethro Tull had a winner at their hands.

Apart from Ian Anderson and Dave Pegg, Fairport Convention violist Rick Sanders guested on the Album. Gerry Conway made his last appearance with Tull on this album playing drums on four tracks, while Doane Perry drummed on two tracks. Nor Doane, Gerry or Ric were credited on the album cover though. Peter-John Vettese left the band before the tour, being replaced by Don Airey, who within a year was followed up by Maart Allcock, another Fairport Convention member!

Before the definite release, a pre-release listening party for "Crest Of A Knave" was organised in Denver. About 300 fans had won the chance to participate from a KBCO, a Colorado radio station. As Russo states: "Ian Anderson wanted to make sure that the tracks that he wanted to include on the album were somewhat in agreement with what the fans wanted. This group of people was asked to listen to each track to determine whether it was of high enough quality to include on the album. If not it would either be considered a bomus track on the CD, or the song would remained unissued" (1; p.137). That is why the tracks "Dogs In The Midwinter" and "The Waking Edge" were not included in the original vinyl-version of the album but did actually on the CD.

Two weeks before the official release of "Crest Of A Knave", the album was aired at the annual Cropredy Festival in England. This folkfestival, where folk bands from all over Western-Europe come to perform, is organised by Fairport's bassplayer Dave Pegg and friends and the 1987 edition was to commemorate the 20th birthday of Fairport Convention's founding. As invited guests, Anderson and Barre joined Pegg during the Fairport set and they played a series of Tull classics. Due to the favorable reaction of the audience Ian asked Dave what he thought about Fairport as Tull's supporting act for the American tour. It was decided that Fairport Convention would start off each night, giving them the opportunity to present their new album "In Real Time" to the American audience and that Dave Pegg would play his bass in both bands.

September finally saw the release of the album Tull-fans worldwide had been waiting for for so long. Though ignored or wiped away by the music press and radio stations, "Crest Of A Knave" had an immediate impact, hitting the charts in the UK, Germany and the USA. For the first time since 1979 Jethro Tull once again had a gold album!



The "Crest Of A Knave" tour programme (1987).
By kind permission of Pete McHugh
(Electrocutas - The Jethro Tull Archive).

On the 4th of October 1987 a very successful and productive tour started in Edinburgh, leading the band through Western Europe and the USA. The combination Fairport Convention / Jethro Tull worked very well, most venues were sold out and the reaction of the audience to the songs from the new album were very enthusiastic. The Crest-tour ended on December 16 in Los Angeles.

Here the story of this great album would come to an end, were it not that to the surpise of both band and fans it was nominated for the 1989 Grammy Awards in the category "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, Vocal or Instrumental". It was not just the nomination itself, but also the categorisation that caused feelings of confusion: Jethro Tull - a heavy metal band? Since Metallica, Alice Cooper and AC/DC were also nomitated and were considered to have a far better chance for obtaining this award, Chrysalis talked Tull out of showing up. Metallica was most likely to win the award for their album ".... And Justice For All".

To the amazement of audience and press, the Grammy was granted to Jethro Tull, years after they should have received this recognition in the first place for their versatile contribution to rock music. At last .... justice for all, albeit that they still are not inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame....
* Jan Voorbij





The Crest Of A Knave Tour: photograph taken during the concert at the Hempstead Nassau Coliseum, NY, November 13 1987.
By kind permission of © Bruce Mironov

Annotations

Steel Monkey

"Steel Monkey" is a slang-name for construction workers who build the steel construction of high-rise blocks and skyscrapers (2, p.377). By assembling steel beams and other prefabricated parts they construct the frames that form the skeletons of these high buildings. It takes a special breed of workmen to fulfil this hazardous job. They work at great heights under tough conditions ("I work in thunder and I work in the rain. I work at my drinking an I feel no pain"), in day and night shifts and are often urged to do their work as fast as possible so that other groups of workers can follow them "upwards". Their professional pride comes to the fore in the lines: "... and some look down from three hundred feet above the ground" and "In the sulphur city, where men are men, we bolt those beams then climb again".
Implicitely this songs contains Anderson's critique with regard to the "overdevelopment" of cities, industrial areas and rural regions with a favorable infrastructure: "Well, I won't rest before the world is made", a theme he works out more specific in the following song.
* Jan Voorbij
At the time when this album was released, the 'New Man' idea was fairly fashionable - the concept of a man who was caring, in touch with his feminine side, faithful, etc. This idea fell out of fashion fairly rapidly (my own theory is because while the 'New Men' were trying to impress the women with their caring, feminine side, the women were getting off with blokes who didn't even know they had a feminine side, and didn't much care) and gave rise to the 'New Lad' culture - basically men who refused to grow up and have any sort of responsibility at all.
This is brilliantly summarized and anticipated in 'Steel Monkey', which paints the world view of someone who's not a 'New Man' and has no intention of becoming one. The narrator, a scaffolder, has a high opinion of himself and what he does ("I'm a high rise jockey, and I'm heaven-bound" ... "arm in arm the angels fly, keep me from falling out the sky"). He's proud of being an old-fashioned, tough guy who doesn't use his brain any more than he has to ("Loose brains from brawn" ... "I work at my drinking and feel no pain"), and has a low opinion of those who do - or indeed anybody who can't do his job ("Now some men hustle, and some just think, and some go running before you blink, and some look up, and some look down from three hundred feet above the ground"). This was nicely summarised on the cover of the UK 12-inch single, which had a photo of the 3 wise monkeys - little brass statues in the poses of 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil', and next to them, a steel monkey with a hard hat on, arms raised in a gesture of victory, and a big grin on its face. Some of these themes resurface in the gloriously lecherous 'Raising Steam' - ('Left a lady with a heart all in pieces, come apart').
"The lid is on": 'Lid' is a slang term for a helmet - in this case his construction worker's hard hat.
* Julian Burnell




The Crest Of A Knave Tour: photograph taken during the concert at the Hempstead Nassau Coliseum, NY, November 13 1987.
By kind permission of © Bruce Mironov

Farm On The Freeway

I think the song deals with economic advance:
"They're busy building airports on the south side ...
Silicon chip factory on the east.
And the big road's pushing through along the valley floor.
Hot machine pouring six lanes at the very least".
The area is growing so rapidly, that they are building a new freeway that happens to run smack dab in the middle of that families land. They had to compensate of course. But, the narrator wasn't looking for compensation. The farm, which has probably been in the same family for generations, is all the narrator cares about. Money isn't everything you know, the land is just more important to him. How can you put a price on it? However, there is an old saying "you can't stand in the way of progress". Reluctantly, our friend sold out. The land inheritance stops with him. His farm is now a six lane highway.
* Evan Williams
This song contains an implicit warning. Economic expansion and development has its price. It may be profitable for multi-nationals and other big enterprises, but in the end brings about a loss of identity, a feeling of alienation for the people who live there. In this song the narrator tells us how he was cut off from his roots by selling the farm he owned, where was raised and where he made his living:
"This was no Southfork, it was no Ponderosa.
But it was the place that I called home".
This feeling of loss is stressed in the last verse:
"They say they gave me compensation ...
That's not what I'm chasing. I was a rich man before yesterday.
And what do I do with a million dollars and a pickup truck,
When I left my farm on the freeway".
Anderson's concern for the environment - as expressed on "Songs From The Wood" and "Stormwatch" comes to the fore here, but now from the perspective of people who are affected by economic expansion.
* Jan Voorbij


Jump Start

'Jump Start' is a song about someone wanting a part of all the eighties materialism which is passing him by. He's looking at all the images which swirl around him - police fighting the miners, Margaret Thatcher, the Yorkshire Ripper, and thinking they seem to be part of a culture which he can't take part in - he's not rich enough, or clever enough - he's headed for the scrapheap unless he can somehow absorb a part of the magical energy these figures seem to posess ("Hook me up to the powerlines of your love").
* Julian Burnell
In the seemingly simple lyrics, Anderson touches on a common experience of our times: like in "Farm On The Freeway" the subject of alienation comes once more to the fore. In the turmoil of post-modern Western society, where individuality and anonimity rule and local communities tend to desintegrate, people feel more and more disconnected. The little criminal, the factory worker, the men who build ships: it could be anyone of us; it applies to us all. If it is impossible to feel committed and connected to other people ("Hook me up to the powerlines of your love"), our identity is negatively affected, live loses its meaning, comes to seem useless and will eventually make us give it all up (".... or tow me away"). A fine example of how an artist observes and criticizes the times and the society he is living in.
* Jan Voorbij


Said She Was a Dancer

This is possibly a song about illusions people (want to) make about each other and themselves, or about projected feelings, wishes, dreams.
Two people from different sides of the Iron Curtain ("eastern steel - western gold") meet and make their own image out of the other by way of wishful thinking: "Well maybe you're dancer, and maybe I'm the King of Old Siam", in other words: "you might be a dancer to me and I might be the King of Old Siam to you. We don't know each other well enough to contradict it, but if we want to believe it, why not? ".... best to let the illusion roll" and ".... but if your dream is good, why not share it when the nights are cold?".
The image of "King of Old Siam" refers to Thailand. Ever since Thailand had been discovered by Europeans in the16th century, it had been considered a mysterious, fairy-like country, due to its large amount of temples, the wealth of its kings and a (Buddhist) culture that was considered awkward in the eyes of the Europeans in those days. Within the context of this song I presume, that the narrator would like to be considered as a man of wealth and mystery, evoking the lady's interest. She however keeps it all very formal, revealing nothing but being a dancer and any attempt to overcome this distance is prevented.
* Jan Voorbij


Dogs In The Midwinter

This dark, brooding and pessimistic song with its threatening atmoshere is a metaphore for Western society in the eighties, suffering from the economic depression. In the "Broadsword" songs Anderson portrayed how this economical crisis affects us all. Ever since "Aqualung" album this critique in one way or another has been popping up from time to time. Here he brings it up once again, as if it were a warning. We are the "Dogs In the Midwinter" with our eyes on each other ("You look around and every face you see: dogs in the midwinter"), starving, suffering from the cold (disintegration of communities, individualism?), greedy (selfishness?), unpredictable (opportunism?) and therefore: dangerous. Homo homini lupus est - as a Roman writer once stated.
There is an implicit reference to the Cold War threat in the lines:
"And it's hard to find true equilibrium
when you're looking at each other down the muzzle of a gun. Dogs in the midwinter. Dogs in the midwinter".
* Jan Voorbij




The Crest Of A Knave Tour: photograph taken during the concert at the Hempstead Nassau Coliseum, NY, November 13 1987.
By kind permission of © Bruce Mironov

Budapest

In the summer of 1986, Jethro Tull did a show in Budapest ("We had to cozzy up in the old gymnasium ...
dusting off the mandolins and checking on the gear"). The next day, while drinking his morning coffee, Ian watched a big athletic waitress, serving sandwiches in a hotel in Budapest, who inspired him to write this song. (2, p.22)
"Feel it blowing from the sidefills ...": Sidefills are a set of speakers on both sides of the stage used to monitor a band's performance. (2, p.387)
* Jan Voorbij
Checked the Hungarian dictionaries for the translation "middle distance runner" and there is a word very similar to it which means "middle-of-the-roader" from an issue or political standpoint. I can't put the Hungarian words into the computer because of the dots and accent marks which go over the various Hungarian letters. Maybe Ian meant it in the context of 'extremely average' or similar? Egesegedre (or however you spell it!).
* Norman Griffiths in Riga, Latvia (SCC vol. 9 nr.4, January 1998)
During the Soviet Bloc era, one way in which the Soviet countries got positive publicity was thought athletics. In addition to somewhat obscure sports (e.g. weightlifting, greco-roman wrestling, rhythmic gymnastics, etc), as well as better known ones (ice hockey, gymnastics, etc.),the countries put all students in school through all sorts of athletic tests. One area where the slavic and baltic countries excelled was track and field. In particular, these countries produced middle distance runners (at 200m, 400m, 800, or the mile). Most of the current world records in these events are held by women from Bulgaria, Russia, etc. So maybe Ian was really talking about a middle distance runner. Such a person (male or female) would be svelte and lanky. And probably pretty nice to the eyes. Your budding track & field official Mikers making up the words, but when Joe was pronouncing the two words for "middle-distance runner" and "middle-of-the-roader" they sounded extremely similar.
* M. Freese (SCC vol. 9 nr. 8, January 1998), with additional comments by Pelerin.


Mountain Men

The lines "where these mountain men are kings and the sound of the piper counts for everything" indicate that the narrator in this song is referring to Scotland. He calls these men "kings" in their own realm, as he considers them to be proud, independent and self-assured of which the sound of the bag-pipe gives evidence. The atmosphere is portrayed in the first stanza and comes to a sudden end like waking up from a dream: ".... as the ship moves sadly from the pier (...) ... two hundred brave souls share the farewell tear".
Now the perspective of the narrator changes: he had to leave his beloved country and filled with homesickness he dreams of getting back: "Lay down and let the slow tide wash me back to the land where I came from", which implicitly raises the question why he left in the first place. The answer is given in the lines: "Did my tour, did my duty. I did all they asked of me" (and) "Long generations from the Isles sent to tread the foreign miles where the spiral ages meet". This is referring to all British soldiers who in the past centuries were sent abroad to fight in wars far from home. This theme occurred earlier in the songs "Queen And Country" and "Ladies" from the "Warchild" album and there are related lines in the first part of "Thick As A Brick" (compare e.g. " ... the mercenary's creed","the young men of the household have all gone into service and are not to be expected for a year..." etc.).
"Died in the trenches and at El Alamein"; the trenches refer to the First World War, where thousands of soldiers died in the trenches in France and Belgium. El Alamein refers to the battle of El Alamein that took place between June 30 and November 3 1942. This Egyptian coastal city, west of Alexandria, was part of the last ditch defensive line of the Allied, mainly British soldiers. They scarcely withstood general Rommel's Afrika Korps' attempts to break these lines thus preventing them to occupy the vital port and city of Alexandria.
".... died in the Falklands on T.V.": In 1982 the Falkland war took place between Argentina - who had occupied the Falkland Islands claiming the "Islas Malvinas" as their territory - and Great Britain. Visit this site for detailed information on the Falkland war.
* Jan Voorbij




The Crest Of A Knave Tour: photograph taken during the concert at the Hempstead Nassau Coliseum, NY, November 13 1987.
By kind permission of © Bruce Mironov

The Waking Edge

Like the song "Spiral" of the recent : J-Tull Dot Com" album, this one is about the waking-up process in which we spiral out of the dream state into reality wondering which is the dream and what is reality: "... the edge of half dream glowing". There is a description of a 'dreamscape' wherein our narrator dwells, a dream about being with a loved one that is dearly missed:
"....I felt her in my dream last night.
Strange how the sheets are warm beside me."
and from which he has to leave reluctantly as his sleep fades away:
"Did I try to hold it down?
Freeze on the picture, hang sharp on the sound.
Catch the waking edge another time."
in vain trying to hold on to the dream by re-living it:
"Private movie showing in my head....
what button di I press for re-run?
And how do I catch the waking edge?
The edge of a dream about someone."
* Jan Voorbij


Raising Steam

Due to its imagery and subject, this song evokes associations with the on-the-road songs by white American folksters like Woody Guthrie and the many songs about rambling and hoboing by the black country blues singers: feeling locked up in one's environment, the urge to look for new possibilities:
"Thin vein creeping; hot blood flow ...
spill a little where the new towns grow.
I got my whole life hanging in a sack,
heading out into that wide world wide."
(compare the equivalent in so many blues songs: "traveling light"), the inevitability of leaving a family behind:
"Left a lady with a heart
all in pieces come apart raising steam."
and the almost 'mystical' role of the train, being the key to freedom: "roll those tracks out".
Note the projection of human qualities on the locomotive:
"You got your locomotive sitting on your track
and I don't care which way I ride" (...)
"That engine up front must
have a big heart for the both of us"
and the sexual innuendo in the last stanza:
"Let me be your engineer ...
have you smiling ear to ear raising steam.
And will you tell me how it feels
when you're up and rolling on your driving wheels?" (...)
"I'll be your locomotive blowing off its stack".
The expression "raising steam" might in this context mean: gathering one's strength and courage to start a new and probably far from easy life.
Whereas American blues and folk singers have portrayed working class people travelling the country new opportunities, Anderson here does probably the same, but now it's all about working class people in economically undeveloped parts of England migrating to the cities looking for work during the Thatcher era. I think these lyrics show how he somewhere down the line was influenced by the lyrical content of American country blues. However, here he applies the imagery to the situation in the UK.
* Jan Voorbij


Sources:
1. Greg Russo: Flying Colours, The Jethro Tull Reference Manual (Floral Park, N.Y., 2000)
2. Karl Schramm (ed.), Gerard J. Burns: Jethro Tull Songbook (Heidelberg, Germany, 1997)
3. Giles Oakley: The Devil's Music, A History Of The Blues (London, UK, 1976).




a
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Jethro Tull
Crest of a Knave
Chrysalis (CDP32 1590-2)
UK 1987

Ian Anderson, vocals, flute, guitars, keyboards; Martin Barre, guitars; David Pegg, bass

Tracklist:
1. Steel Monkey — 3:41
2. Farm on the Freeway — 6:31
3. Jump Start — 4:55
4. Said She Was a Dancer — 3:43
5. Dogs in the Midwinter — 4:37
6. Budapest — 10:05
7. Mountain Men — 6:20
8. The Waking Edge — 4:50
9. Raising Steam — 4:07

total time 48:51


Links:
see all jethro tull reviews at ground & sky
official site
review at progressiveears
the tullzine - a big fan site
cup of wonder - annotated tull lyrics site
jethro tull at the gepr
buy this cd from amazon.com




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How well I remember it. The Grammys were to present their first award for "Best Heavy Metal / Hard Rock Album". Everybody expected Metallica to win, but I had my fingers crossed for Jethro Tull. When it turned out that Crest of a Knave had won the inaugural award, there was naturally an uproar. The people who this award was supposed to represent weren't having their tastes represented. MTV did an article panning the Grammys in which they showed how silly it was to consider Crest of a Knave Heavy Metal by playing part of a particularly soft piece by Tull from another album. Whatever. I thought Crest of a Knave was the best of the albums nominated, even though their record company thought they had no chance of winning and so wouldn't pay for the airfare.
It must be admitted, though, that the album is not a particularly heavy one. There are a couple of moments of heavy guitar work from Martin Barre, but for the most part the style is reminiscent of Dire Straits. Both Barre's guitar and Ian Anderson's vocals have a heavy Mark Knopfler influence on them at times.

Aside from the controversies of style this album creates, it's the renewed quality of the songwriting here that makes Crest of a Knave memorable. There are two genuinely classic Tull tracks here. "Farm on the Freeway" mixes Barre's Knopfler-influenced guitar with Andeson's flute highly effectively, and the band uses a two chord sequence masterfully to build suspense. The song builds up and we're treated to one of Barre's best guitar solos with Tull before the song return to its quieter and still not quite resolved beginnings. "Mountain Men" is another song which builds up from a slow beginning. The highlights here are the composed guitar riffs which are comparable with some of Steve Hackett's early contributions to Genesis. The rest of the tracks on this album are generally solid, if not spectacular.

As with most of Jethro Tull's albums, the lyrics stand out for their ironic perspective on life. Alongside the more serious observations are two pieces about Eastern European women he chatted up on tour, and completely failed to get into bed. And who could remember the Thatcher era and not smile at the line "Hey Mrs. Maggie won't you come on over. Hook me up to the power lines of your love"?

This is easily one of Jethro Tull's best albums from the eighties, and even gives a number of Tull's seventies releases a run for their money. Ian Anderson does both fun and serious with equal aplomb, and once you get over the fact that the sound is seriously derivative of Dire Straits, the album is a great listen.

Oh, and if this hadn't won the Grammy, I would personally liked to have seen it go to Jane's Addiction. Just in case there are any Metallica fans reading this.

review by Conrad Leviston — 11-16-03 — post a comment (0)




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In 1987, the CD was still catching on as a new format and most record shops were still firmly dedicated to stocking and selling LPs. That autumn, I would head down after school to a record shop and enthusiastically rummage through the bins. What attracted my particular attention were new albums by three of my favorite bands at the time: Big Generator by Yes, Hold Your Fire by Rush, and Crest of a Knave by Jethro Tull. I remember picking all three up at around the same time, each with a simple iconography strewn across the gloriously huge space offered to the cover for the LP format. As it would turn out, sadly, all three albums would be disappointments of varying degrees. In the case of the latter two, I had heard rumors from other fans at my school word-of-mouth (remember, this was long before the days of the WWW and fan forums) that these albums would be a return to 'classic form,' away from the pop and synth-driven tendencies that had spread through their recent albums. This, of course, turned out to be crap.
As a teenage boy whose main previous exposure to Jethro Tull was their classic stuff, I wasn't quite prepared for the mostly laid back offerings that greeted me here. Where were the contrapuntal bass runs? The Hammond organ? Did I pick up a Dire Straits album by mistake (not that there's anything wrong with that)?

Returning to Crest of a Knave all these years later, I am quickly reminded about what really bugged me about the album then. The worst things remain the thin, late 80s production and the icky drum programming, neither of which have worn well. The album's most popular track, the generic "Steel Monkey," would have generated a lot more heat with a real drummer, but even when there is a real drummer present, they seem to be there strictly for the paycheck.

That being said, as a mellow grown-up I find that myself enjoying this album much, much more. From a lyric-writing standpoint, Ian Anderson was stronger than ever. With his inimitable turn of phrase and irony, Anderson weaves vivid pictures with his words, particularly on the placid offerings that are, yes, a dead ringer for Mark Knopfler's band ("Said She Was a Dancer," "Budapest," "Mountain Men") but also on the grittier numbers ("Steel Monkey," "Jump Start"), all of which tended to go over my head back then.

Like many other prog albums first explored as a teenager and exasperatingly filed away, Crest of a Knave is one with which I find myself fully reconciled. Though I wouldn't call it a classic by any stretch of the imagination, it is a decent effort worthy of some respect.

review by Joe McGlinchey — 7-18-04




Jethro Tull - Crest Of A Knave

Released: 1987/2005
Label: Capitol/EMI
Cat. No.: F2 21590/DIDX 2026 / 73413
Total Time:


Reviewed by: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck, July 2005
Crest Of A Knave won Jethro Tull a Grammy and, as it turned out, it was voted the best metal album! It just goes to show that the people voting for these awards do not seem to have a clue. Its obvious that they had not heard some of the earlier albums by this band that were much more deserving of an award; Thick As A Brick comes to mind immediately because it was so innovative and groundbreaking. With all of that said, Crest Of A Knave is a fine rock album, minus the progressive elements, however. I agree with Ian Anderson; it's one of my favorites as well. For its pure, straight ahead rock approach, you cannot ask for more. Martin Barre proves once again why has been one of the preeminent string benders of the last 40 years.

"Farm On The Freeway," not looked upon as a classic JT track, most certainly is in my book, and "Budapest" is an incredible tune that still stands tall today and is one of the highlights of their live performances. "Steel Monkey" is quite the rocker to start the set. It is the band's own personal tribute to that little old band from Texas, you know the dudes with the long beards?

I am spoiled and accustomed to enjoying a plethora of bonus tracks on nearly every release of this remastered series, this one offers only one, "Part Of The Machine," which is excellent. The remastering is superb per usual and I immediately pulled my old copy out of my CD rack and threw it in a box once I heard this. It was a very intelligent decision to get Anderson involved with this process and to offer his perception of each album's sessions. It makes each release so special to all of us hardcore JT fans. Another one well done - I would expect nothing less.

Rating: 4.5/5

More about Crest Of A Knave:

Track Listing: Steel Monkey / Farm On The Freeway / Jump Start / She Said She Was A Dancer / Dogs In The Midwinter / Budapest / Mountain Men / Waking Edge / Raising Steam / Part of the Machine (Bonus Track)