the hype about Energy Flash / Generation Ecstasy by Simon Reynolds

"Rave music and dance culture, the subjects, by subtitular admission, of this edition of Energy Flash, updated for the 20th anniversary of the dawn of Acid House, bore me absolutely sideways. Whatever exposure I’ve had to the music, invariably accidental, has prompted incredulous reflections on the quantity of mind-altering substances one would need to ingest to find the racket bearable, never mind enjoyable... So, while it may seem somewhat backhanded, the news that I was absorbed by all 500-odd pages of Energy Flash should be read as the highest imaginable praise. Reynolds traces the genre’s development from its origins in Detroit, New York and Chicago, through its climactic budding in the motorway-side paddocks of Britain in the late 80s and early 90s, to its fractious, twitchy, even sinister comedown – a trajectory not dissimilar to that experienced by those who consume ecstasy, the drug that powered it all. Reynolds begins as an observer and finds himself subsumed as a participant, popping the pills, following the crowds, raving amid the throng and, en route, employing his connections as a journalist to meet the prime movers. His digressions on the chemical and cultural effects of ecstasy in particular are lucid and informed, and as such a bracing reminder of how little public discussion of drugs is any of those things.

As for the music, Reynolds writes as wonderfully about dance as he does about any other genre; indeed, he’s very nearly persuasive....

Castlemorton may have been the last moment at which pop culture felt potentially genuinely transgressive (Part V of the 1995 Criminal Justice & Public Order Act specifically targeted raves). Since then, dance/rave music has become as marginal as every other music which isn’t conveyor-belt pop or heritage rock; Energy Flash is in that respect perfectly titled. It’s also thoughtful, meticulous, fizzing with intellectual vigour, a(nother) monumental accomplishment from the best in his business." -- Andrew Mueller, New Humanist.

"An exceptional book. Reynolds has tracked the unfolding sounds and rituals of 'the (al)chemical generation' so comprehensively that he virtually obviates the need for any further literature on the period"--MOJO

"The enthusiasm, passion and knowledge...seeps out of every page, as
Reynolds diligently traces the development of a local scene which
became an international industry. But unlike the rest of dance culture
analyses, Reynolds sidelines the clubs'n'drugs and concentrates on the
music."--THE FACE/ #6 in THE FACE 's TOP 10 BOOKS OF 1998

"Yields new insights across 424 sharply funny, accessible pages. A great achievement from a world class writer."---iD

"BOOK OF THE MONTH... The triumph of Reynolds' history of the
scene is its ability to cast him as both a die hard convert and a
detached critic.....For a culture that relishes its pose of amnesia, Reynolds covers its incandescent memories, and in so doing, he makes its flesh become
word."--ARENA

" BOOK OF THE MONTH/* * * * *..... Reynolds is the Greil Marcus of rave... As did Marcus, Reynolds--cool intellect and passionate advocate--manages to expose and explain yet retain a mystical awe for his subject..." ---UNCUT

"BOOK OF THE MONTH.... The first incisive attempt at detailing the
post-Ecstasy scene's unending proliferation of sub-genres and new
styles." -- SELECT

"A classic chronicle of the Nineties rave movement... Striking and well-reported" -- ROLLING STONE

"An important cultural critique, a detailed record that brings us up to date on a dynamic social experiment in progress" -- THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

"Lucid, comprehensive, and smart.... the best available way into what has always been a closed-to-the-grownups world."--VILLAGE VOICE

"An impressively detailed and well-informed chronology of the last decade's transatlantic nightclub soundtrack"---NEWSDAY

".... One of this country's finest and most intellectually engaging music
journalists.... Reynolds has a seemingly inexhaustible reserve of
enthusiasm for his subject that is ultimately infectious. He's a writer
who manages to transmit the excitement he feels about the music into
his prose--a rare gift, and one that makes him incessantly rewarding to
read." -- THE INDEPENDENT

"Crucially, Reynolds concentrates every bit as much on the music itself... as on the culture of people, places and events... a strong enough mix of insider's insight and cool critical analysis to make a very readable book as fascinating and informative as it is enthusiastic and entertaining." --- Q