possessed (the result of recent throat surgery). Ian Anderson later stated about the musical style of the album: "'Steel Monkey' was based around a sequencer riff, and it didn't have any flute in it. So it was yet another atypical Jethro Tull song that was a radio hit. By comparison, both 'Farm On The Freeway' and 'Budapest' are very typical Tull songs. 'Budapest' is the kind of song I like to write because it embodies a lot of different nuances which I think are subtly joined together. It sort of moves from classical to slightly bluesy to folk, and it just slips between them and you don't see the stitching." Themes Crest of a Knave explores various themes in its lyrics, as Anderson often does. The song "She Said She Was a Dancer" shows that Tull's frank treatment of sexuality was unabated. The album contains the popular live song "Budapest", which depicts a backstage scene with a shy local female stagehand. "Farm on the Freeway" on other hand profiles a farmer who has lost his land through eminent domain, and who now possesses only his truck. "Mountain Men" became more famous in Europe, depicting a scene from World War II in Africa and the Falklands War. Ian Anderson referred to the battles of El Alamein (WW II) and also South America (1982), drawing historic parallels of the angst that women left behind by their warrior husbands might have felt. Critical reception Sounds''' review was mixed. It recognized the quality and even called the opening tracks "Steel Monkey" and "Farm on the Freeway" "stunners". The overall evaluation was that: "In a shrewd move, Ian Anderson has studied the current heavy metal renewal and adapted it to suit his own ends, and the results are impressive to say the least". Although in the end, comparing the album with the style of Mark Knopfler, the review would go on to say that: "But in his efforts to stay 'hip', the hairy progressive rock guru has fallen prey not just to the influence of modern pop's more inspiring aspects but also to its foulest evils: the rank odour of Mark Knopfler pervades the remainder of 'Crest...' […] Shamefully and cruelly, the album is snuffed out. It's a pity, in all seriousness". Although contemporarily well-accepted, AllMusic's later review was a little more committed, calling the album their best since Heavy Horses, but also stating: "Truth