Jefferson Airplane's 4th effort remains an overlooked opus of sorts and continues the experimental qualities of the previous, psychedelic influenced "After Bathing at Baxter's" set. Opening with Grace Slick's "Lather", a folk-tinged number, lyrically coded within the "don't trust anyone over 30" credo that the counter-culture had adopted, it's an odd number with various sound effects interspersed during its duration. Slick later revealed that it was about the Airplane's drummer, Spencer Dryden(whom was the eldest of the band members), as the two were then involved romantically. Kantner's tune, "In Time", follows and builds organically featuring the classic 3 part harmony of Slick, Balin and Kantner, while musically marrying folk elements with a hint of psychedelia maintaining the experimental nature of the record. Which leads the way for their cover of David Crosby's "Triad", a number that in hindsight was a pivotal career change for David and has gone down in history as the song that got him fired from the Byrds. Grace takes the lead on this complex, folk laden tune, featuring a quiet arrangement, highlighting Jorma and Paul's acoustic guitar interplay specifically. "Star Track" written by Jorma Kaukonen, is blues based and sung by Jorma; it would foreshadow the side project of Hot Tuna that he and bassist Jack Casady formed later, into a full fledged project away from the trappings of the Airplane's style.

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Marty Balin contributes two numbers of significance in "Share a Little Joke", written after the end of a personal relationship and features a soulful base flavored with Jorma's psychedelic guitar overtones and Jack Casady's driving bass lines; "If You Feel" is a spontaneous, improvisation that has a raw, rollicking feel and sounds as though Marty had come up with the lyrics on the spot; adding to the album's experimental quality, it's in step within the recordings' context. "Chushingura", contributed by drummer, Spencer Dryden, is a whacky, off the wall number and provides an awkward interlude between the previous two cuts. And again, because of the album's searching, experimental quality, its inclusion to the album fits in naturally. After the spontaneity of "If You Feel", the title cut charges off with a forceful rhythm and the 3 part harmonies return to give its charge with a degree of inspired aggression. The guitars, drums and bass perfectly meld together and towards the end of the track, momentum slows down contemplatively, and the singers acknowledge in the line, "Life is Change, How it Differs from the Rocks", reinforcing the vibe of self-expression and innovation prominent throughout the record's duration. 

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"Ice Cream Phoenix" continues the concept of spontaneous art that the group has displayed throughout this recording, written by Jorma and collaborator Charles Cockey, the curious meld of blues rock with a dash of psychedelic undertone is exemplary with its inclusion to  the record. Grace's "Greasy Heart" is another interesting number, driven again by the core of Casady, Kaukonen and Dryden, it was chosen as a single, but because of it being rather unconventional as a pop hit, it failed considerably, although its appearance within the context of the record, speaks for itself. The group follows up with a sequel to "Baxter's", "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" in the "House at Pooneil Corners", which offers a darker, apocalyptic vision and vibe, driven by organ, and the vocals of Balin, Slick and Kantner as well as Jorma's improvised guitar lines. What I love most about this album is that while it is consistent with the previous "Baxter's" release , it forges ahead with further experimentation and in the process, simultaneously exposes the talents of each and every band member, proving their strength as a unit as well as individual acknowledgement. 

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The '03 remaster offers up 3 cuts of mischief, experimentation and "cutting floor" doodles, again, within the spirit of "After Bathing at Baxter's" , tagged on with a mono single mix of Balin's "Share a Little Joke". Dryden's "The Saga of Sydney Spacepig" is a near 8 minute jam that begins with Casady's bass and Jorma's guitar lines, incorporating elements of "controlled chaos"; it proceeds to end with some of the country-blues guitar playing that Jorma would use as the basis within the Hot Tuna project. In fact, that blues pattern is a quick "run through" of "Candyman"(a Reverend Gary Davis tune), a song that would be featured exclusively during the early years of "Tuna", so the inclusion is an interesting tip for serious fans of the band in that respect.  I find "Crown of Creation" to be an overlooked album and I think it shows the great qualities of the group and would prove to be, in some ways, more of a catalyst of a work in progress for what would appear later on releases like "Volunteers" and certainly, Grace and Paul's peripheral outer Airplane endeavor, "Blows Against the Empire".

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Grade Rating- A-