Although much of
Grandmaster Flash's best, biggest, and most groundbreaking work was compiled on
Message From Beat Street: The Best Of,
The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: More of the Best is necessary for any comprehensive rap collection. The rest of
Grandmaster Flash's most important singles, many of which have not appeared on compact disc before, are corralled onto this single-disc. On the whole, the album concentrates on the group's latter-day efforts for Elektra Records, but the cream of the album is the handful of singles for Sugar Hill, including the pioneering "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel," which presents the group at its freshest and most innovative. Some of the Elektra recordings are a little rote and by-the-book, but the Sugarhill songs help make this an essential purchase. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine