Kool Herc was the first hip-hop DJ, and Afrika Bambaataa had a better record collection but Grandmaster Flash was the first turntablist--the first DJ to play the wheels of steel like an instrument. Working with the first MC supergroup--the Furious Five, the Wu-Tang Clan of their day--Flash charted the course of hip-hop for years to come. This collection charts Flash's many highs, from "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" to "Scorpio", "White Lines" to "The Message"; but at 37 tracks, there's plenty of room for Flash's lesser-known works, only some of which are of more than archival interest. Though Flash's hits can be found on any number of packages, Back to the Old School puts them in a context that makes them all the more impressive. --Randy Silver