Razorcake:

RODDY RADIATION: Skabilly Rebel - The Roddy Radiation Anthology: advance copy CD. For all you musical archaeologists out there, ya probably already know Roddy Radiation as an artistically creative principal component (vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter) of the two-tone ska band The Specials. But, hot-diggedy hell, I can damn well assure you that this ain't none of that fruity, horn-blaring ska shit! The sonic skull-rattling liveliness contained herein is pure boot-scootin' rockabilly rebelliousness (with a sometimes heavy hint of jaunty ska rhythms, especially towards the end of the disc) that sounds as if it were crazily recorded in a backwoods chicken-shack studio in 1956. Indeed, my ears appreciatively hear the vibrant, ball-bustin' influences of Sun-era Elvis, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, "Ain't Love Grand"-era X, and even a rollickin' swirl of Johnny Rivers-style swagger. Apparently rootin'-tootin' Roddy fronted three different bands in the early '80s (The Bonediggers, The Tearjerkers, and The Raiders), and this here devilishly divine disc is a magnificently well-maintained compilation of their various recorded output. It's rural auditory bravado at its hell-raisin', honky-tonkin' best, a raucously spectacular collection that'll have ya squealin' like a pig in no time at all! - Roger Moser, Jr.

Tattoo Savage Magazine:

Known for his work with the seminal Ska band The Specials, Roddy Radiation was a founding member, guitarist and songwriter. Besides being a major contributor of the original Ska revival and British punk movement, Roddy was the originator of a musical style called "Skabilly". Roddy's latest release, "Skabilly Rebel," is an anthology of Roddy's musical explorations over the last 20 years. The various groups such as The Bonediggers, The Tearjerkers and The Radiers were different manifestations of Roddy's musical line-ups, but were all lead by Roddy. According to Roddy, he noticed that "black and white players borrow form each other, and hybrids, mixtures are the key to progression" and thus, Roddy fused his two favorite styles, Ska and Rockabilly. Album opener "Desire" has sweet surf guitar intro drenched in reverb that shifts into a driving hot-rod rockabilly sound. On the tune "Bonedigger" the main guitar line borrows from The Munsters TV show theme while Roddy's crooning is reminiscent of Johnny Rivers. The overall effect of this song is an iceberg cool. The song "Fallen Angel," with its more contemporary sounds induced by synth stabs and new wave groove, is not as strong as the other tunes but is still a worthwhile listen. Leaning more on the Ska side, "Reckless Romance" is guaranteed to get the attention of any rudeboy or rudegirl with its syncopated guitar sweeps and rocksteady beat. At first approach the genre Skabilly might seen like a contradiction but Roddy Radiation, the genre's pioneer, makes it accessible, compelling and playful. (Roger Park)

Now Wave:

The difference between Roddy "Radiation" Byers and all of those wanna-be Mike Ness wifebeater-wearing macho dickwad posers out there today is that rockabilly has been in Byers's soul FOREVER. Best known as The Specials' guitarist, Roddy Radiation has been toiling away at the helm of obscure English rockabilly side-projects like Tearjerkers, Bonediggers, and Raiders since even before The Specials' heyday. In doing so, he has kept "skabilly", the unfashionable genre he invented, alive and well. The SKABILLY REBEL anthology collects 19 of RR's very best post-Specials tunes, and the whole affair is a delightful, infinitely-listenable document. The hybrid style adds pinches of ska rhythms to jumpy, twangy 50's rockabilly stylings, and the end result is hard to refute. Fuck that hyper-testosterone punkabilly shit that gives rockabilly a bad name---this is the real deal, closer to Carl Perkins, Bill Haley, Johnny Burnette, and Link Wray than it is to ANYTHING that's remotely hip today. I'm talking soulful, gritty, country-fried roots rock with HEART. Byers' arrangements have always been tasteful, stressing alluring melodies and catchy guitar lines rather than going for the jugular with speed and muscle. Songs like "Desire" and "Fallen Angel", then, sound remarkably refreshing even in a day and age when roots rockabilly is largely considered a dead genre. This is the kind of stuff you listen to while you're drinking on the porch at dusk, NOT the shit they play while a bunch of boneheads pummel each other at some smoke-filled scenester dive.

As a whole, this collection harkens back to the days when rockabilly crooners were skinny, pretty, heartbroken troubadours rather than intellectually-challenged glorified he-men trying too hard to get laid. It's damn nice to hear a tried-and-true musical formula regurgitated not only with reverence, but also with such first-rate musical gusto and well-honed songwriting chops. For those of you jumping on the rockabilly bandwagon, why not let Roddy Radiation show ya how it's done? (REVIEW BY RUTLEDGE)

Dirty Linen Magazine:

Roddy Byers is a nobody. Roddy Radiation, lives in that netherworld between fame and obscurity. Like Warren Zevon, in the Bizzaro world he's a star, but in this one he's doomed to the fringes of rockabilly fame. As a founding member of the Specials, he transformed ska into a mainstream force. Here, with the Bonediggers, the Raiders, and the Tearjerkers, he rips skabilly a new reputation as a driving straightforward, and fundamental force in modern music. From the guy who wrote the Specials' "Gangsters," there's the thumper "Desire" and the smoothly produced "Blue Angel," an unreleased and angeleic demo, Byers' influences range far beyond ska to roots-rock, punk, and twangy rock n' roll. It's a rainy night in London and this disc is the way to duck out of it. (CM)

Scoot! Quarterly

As some of you Specials fans may know, Roddy Radiation, guitarist and occasional songwriter for the band, was in a couple of rockabilly acts around Coventry before he turned his attention to the founders of 2-Tone. This release is a compilation of the tracks Roddy has recorded with various bands since 1981. Referred to as "skabilly," though I'm not really hearing much of a ska influence, except in perhaps in the organ on the Bonediggers track from the early nineties called "Blues Attack." It's just as well, because as a result, the CD is filled with some good rockabilly tracks, rather than some ska-highbreed mess like Goldfinger. The Bonediggers also have a theme song that is pretty cool, with an intro that is a variation on the theme from "The Munsters"! There are several tracks from a band called the Tearjerkers, which he worked with from 1981-87, that are mostly sort of country with a bit of an "Americana" (think Elvis Costello's latest or Wilco) feel that is pretty trendy these days, but these songs are downright ground-breaking in this case as they are being performed by and English musician in the eighties who is best known for playing Jamaican music. The disc is rounded out with a couple pf songs from the Raiders and some solo tracks that have a little more ska in them than the songs done with previous bands. I know there are quite a few post-skinhead lads out there who are sporting a bit of a quaff these days who will love this shit! Check it out at Fiend Music, PO Box 41470, Los Angeles CA, 90041 or www.fiendmusic.com.

Skratch Magazine:

You may remember Roddy Radiation from his work as lead guitarist for The Specials, but what you may not be aware of is his contribution as originator of a style of music called skabilly. This is a collection of his earliest skabilly works-which, quite frankly, is not too far off from typical neo-rockabilly (with the exception of the occasional up-stroke guitar rhythms). If you're into modern rockabilly, then chances are you will enjoy this album. It shows off talent and a whole lot of rock 'n' roll.
-ADF