"The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash" proved highly influential in the development of hip hop music, and according to
The Guardians Andrew Purcell, has "inspired generations of musicians". It was the first rap track to be produced with records and, resultingly, to employ scratching and turntablism. Similarly, author Todd Souviginier describes the "dazzling
sound collage" as a major achievement and "arguably the first real display of modern DJ skills on vinyl", considering it to be a radical
postmodern work that was without precedent in pop music for the way it re-purposed an assortment of records. The record was a major influence on other DJs, with Flash playing a pivotal role in "establishing the concept of
sampling and turntablism." In particular, the track sparked interest in turntablism as an art form and "inspired the next wave of turntablists." Souvignier wrote that the track placed the DJ "in the spotlight, as a performer and soloist, on par with any other musician". The track was also influential in the development of the
megamix. The manner in which the record cuts and switches between different songs proved to be an influence on further studio-produced megamixes which utilised genuine samples, an example being the 1984
electro funk track "Tommy Boy Megamix", comprising snippets of the most popular songs on hip hop label
Tommy Boy Records. In his piece on
remixing, Kyle Adams cites "Wheels of Steel", alongside
Double Dee and Steinski's "Lesson 1-The Payoff Mix" (1983), as "two seminal early
remixes", while author
Matt Mason wrote Flash and
Afrika Bambaataa were historic in the development of the remix as the process 'mutated' on vinyl, describing Flash's record as "[showing] the world this new remix music undiluted." The record has also been described as a
mashup, with
Treble writer Adam Blyweiss including the track at the start of their 2014 list of "essential mashup milestones". David Dewaele of
Soulwax was influenced by the record, have adopted the idea of "[taking] the best bits of the records [Flash] loves and repeats them so people can dance", for Soulwax's mashup side-project
2 Many DJs.
Retrospective appraisal Among retrospective appraisals,
AllMusic's Jason Ankeny described it as the Furious Five's "first truly landmark recording" and "a stunning sound collage", while Steven Daly of
Vanity Fair has dubbed it "a dense and dazzling sound collage that has been described as the sole recorded embodiment of original hip-hop."
Mark Dery of
The New York Times considers it an "audio collage" that "stands alongside
Jimi Hendrix's abstract-expressionist '
Star-Spangled Banner' as one of pop music's most dazzling moments." Cochrun calls it a "seven-minute display of finesse, close-listening, musical knowledge, and all-around turntable mastery". In 1987,
NME ranked "Wheels of Steel" at number 31 in their list of the top 150 singles of all time. In 1992,
The Wire included it in their list of "The 100 Most Important Records Ever Made"; the magazine wrote that in being the first scratch mix, the track remains "the entry point into a new, incredibly creative period of black music mixes", adding that it "laid down a formal gauntlet not taken up until Double Dee and Steinski's three 'Lessons' of 1984/5." In 2001,
Uncut ranked it at number 18 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Singles from the Post-Punk Era". ==Track listing==