Customer Rating: 
Summary: Probably my favorite Coltrane album
Comment: I bought this a couple of years ago while I was on vacation in Vancouver. I was at a record store, when I spotted this one. I bought it. I listened, and came to conclusion that it was probably his best. The title track especially is awesome. It's 8+ minutes of killer saxophone, as only Coltrane can deliver.
Other highlights for me on this Coltrane epic include 'The Drum Thing,' 'Bessie's Blues,' and 'Wise One.' This was released on the Impulse label, which was purchased by MCA years ago. The sound quality on the remastered disc is simply amazing.
If you enjoyed this Coltrane record, check these out:
A Love Supreme-Impulse
Blue Train-Blue Note
Giant Steps-Atlantic
My Favorite Things-Atlantic
With Thelonious Monk-Verve
This is highly recommended. Check out his best compilation too, 'Ken Burns JAZZ Collection.'
ENJOY!!!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: (3.5 stars) A bit sporadic
Comment: Now this is a bit odd. Here we have John Coltrane, a guy best known for launching aural fireworks out of his saxophone, a guy known for expanding the sonic vocabulary of the tenor sax the way Hendrix did for the guitar, playing a soft, gentle album that's heavy on what seems to be introspection. But hey, I like it, odd as it may be. It's not one of Coltrane's several Class A recordings (which I deem to be Blue Train, Giant Steps, Coltrane's Sound, My Favorite Things, Live at the Village Vanguard, A Love Supreme, Ascension, First Meditations, Stellar Regions, and The Major Works of John Coltrane), but it still belongs on your shelf once you've drained all of those dry. And another thing - I just adore "Wise One", which positively shimmers - the interaction between Trane and Elvin Jones is key to what makes that song work. The title song, which rises and falls like waves, is also close to "masterpiece" level. These two songs are offset by the more uptempo "Bessie's Blues", a slight, brief blues-based recording that throws off the mood. Don't ask me what it's doing here. I mean, it would've sounded okay on Giant Steps, but it's jarring in this context. I'm not all that big on "Lonnie's Lament", either. As far as I'm concerned, "Crescent" and "Wise One" do the same slooooooow ballad thing much better. But Cltrane's never one to stay in a rut for long, those rare times when he gets into one at all, and he saves himself with "The Drum Thing". Now the obvious focus of the song is the drum solo, which is one of the best drum solos I've ever heard - and it's the best drum showcase tune ever recorded - but what really gets me is the melody. I love it when musicians sneak world music into their melodies, and that's what Coltrane does. It works fine as a drum solo, but it also could have worked fine as a more traditional song, with a melody that good. Killer tune either way. In truth Crescent is a bit uneven, containing Coltrane both at his best and at his worst, but when Coltrane's at his best, few can compete. So while Crescent is a nice album, it's a mere warm-up act for what would come next: A Love Supreme, possibly the greatest album of all time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: John Coltrane-Crescent:: Great CD!
Comment: Outstanding! Better than even anticipated! If you like John Coltrane, you'll love this CD.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best Coltrane ever. Period.
Comment: Of all the magnificent peaks of John Coltrane's legacy, this one is the highest and most perfect. It should "Crescent", not the overrated "Love Supreme" or any other album, that should be considered the standard, appealing to Coltrane novices as well as the most hardcore collectors looking for musical challenges. This album is stunning from beginning to end, every track beautifully intense and urgent, yet controlled, with no flaws. "Crescent" may be considered by some as Coltrane's "darkest" collection (with the exception of one bright blues, the tone is somber), but it is in its haunting otherworldly quality that it stands apart.
Customer Rating:
Summary: L. Hendricks
Comment: Few albums sum the musical ideas of an instumentalist as well as Crescent does for John Coltrane. One gets the sense that all the bugs have been worked out and that this is what he wanted to say. The message is lyricism and the blues... and perhaps laughter. The rhythm section is warm and sharp. The music has the searching melencholy that is immediately recognizable as Trane. Singularly beautiful.
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