The album was recorded after a three-year hiatus caused by a throat infection of vocalist Ian Anderson, resulting in his changed singing style.

It was also a critical success, winning the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental in what was widely viewed as an upset over the favorite, Metallica's ...And Justice for All.

This album was released simultaneously on LP and on CD, but the vinyl edition did not feature the songs "Dogs in the Midwinter" and "The Waking Edge".

The style of Crest has been compared to that of Dire Straits, in part because Anderson no longer had the vocal range he once possessed (the result of recent throat surgery).

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.

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.

"Jump Start" and "Raising Steam" also rock hard, and no one can complain of too much on this record being soft, apart from the acoustic "The Waking Edge," along with "Budapest" and "Said She Was a Dancer," Anderson's two ageing rock-star's-eye-view accounts of meeting women from around the world.

[8] Crest of a Knave won the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental, beating the heavily favoured ...And Justice for All by Metallica and critics' choice Nothing's Shocking by Jane's Addiction.

In response to the controversy, the band's record label Chrysalis took out an advert in a British music periodical with the line, "The flute is a heavy, metal instrument!