'Rockabilly/Psychobilly: An Art Anthology' edited by Jamie Kendall is a collection of art focused on nostalgia and horror.

Filled with over 600 pieces of art by 55 artists, this collection spans the musical worlds of rockabilly, and its darker cousin psychobilly. The rockabilly side has gig posters and lots of cheesecake art and guys with greased back hair. Psychobilly adds a horror element to that genre, and has band posters and album art as well as some scary looking art.

I liked this collection of creative art. It all leans toward the nostalgic in style, but doesn't feel old, if that makes sense. Each artist has a few images featured along with a song the reader should listen to while looking at the art. I didn't do that, but the selections I knew seemed picked right for the part.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Schiffer Publishing Ltd. and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Damn! The imagery is awesoe...if you like the old rock and roll you probably recognize a lot of this images but...if you are like me...you don't have any f****ing idea about their name...but the list of artist, that stuff values gold.

I enjoyed the artwork in this book and the short paragraphs from the artists on what inspired them. I also liked the musical suggestions. I do wish there was more context for the artwork. This book is a good introduction and the artwork presented is wonderful. I would have liked more text. Enjoy

What a wonderful book full of varied artwork and comments from those artist dedicated to this medium. The art relates to posters, flyers, album covers and more to promote and reflect this incredible artform and diverse skill set.
"If I could travel back to the 1940s-60s and make my living drawing for bands and exploitation films, I'd do it tomorrow. The most exciting art to me was always cheap trashy screenprints in two or three colors with dodgy registration and obviously flaws. I'd rather draw something to be hung and enjoyed in dorms and filthy garages than ignored in a respectable gallery" LEON RYAN.
The music and art go hand in hand and are both creative arts that people of all ages seem to not only compliment each other but promote iconic aspects over the past decades. Elvis isn't dead, he hasn't left the building he graces this art as much as he inspires the music. Part of its fun perhaps is its niche, cult status but has more dedicated followers than many passing crazes. Betty Boop is here, the buxom pin ups adopted by aircrews for their planes and the sense of rock and roll lives on. But is deeper, classic american cars and horror genres across classics to B films and is a worldwide phenomenon across age-culture and national identities.
*fast cars,fast women and hard liquor*
"I've always had two passions in my life: drawing and music (mainly rockabilly and psychobilly). For me, the rockabilly scene, lifestyle, and fashion is a sourse of major inspiration. To design album covers for bands, flyers for concerts, merchandise or tattoos following these themes is a real motivation to keep drawing" - OSCAR HERTIN.
Now it isn't my real interest or hobby collecting the art or living in this music genre. But I have always been open to a range of music influences and various art, but I have never looked cool in a leather jacket. The book was a great learning experience, it has given me a greater understanding and respect for its followers and die-hard fans. I love the simple colour and bold cartoon drawings, reality but with a sense of fun and a means of communication. Some of the art will stay with me and I will look at for it in future with a keener eye and a wider appreciation.
"Drawing for psychobilly can't be learned, you must have the music in your blood and understand it. It's made up of a good deal of horror, wildness, and also a touch of humour.
For me, it shouldn't be too wise or too clean, it has to keep the instinctive and primal side.
The music and the image are indissociable, it must form a coherent whole." - PASKAL MILLET
A coffee table read, where you'll want to drink something stronger and listen to some great music.

A unique book filled with all sorts of Rockabilly/Psychobilly artwork. With everything from Pinups to band posters to album artwork and more. This massive artwork collection certainly has something for everyone. This book took me back to my childhood, when my walls were covered in posters, and CD covers. Back to the days of rewriting the lyrics to all my favorite bands out in a notebook, and trying to draw the album covers myself. This book is a true gem, and I feel like it's the wonderful gift for any of your music loving friends. It would look great as a coffee table book. A perfect conversation starter that your guests will love to flip through.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I truly appreciate it!

I’m sure you’re already familiar with rockabilly. You’ve got plenty of men in suits or leather biker jackets and jeans, hair greased, admiring their cars, bikes and/or women. You’ve got the sexy, sassy bombshells, where oftentimes the only thing bigger than their butts are their breasts. The women are decked out in poodle skirts, short shorts and various combinations of not much, with plenty of Bettie Page inspiration and beehives competing to make it to heaven first. The beer’s flowing and the cigarettes are lit.

Are you as familiar with psychobilly? I hadn’t heard of the word before this book but once I started that section I realised I did know it after all. I love the way psychobilly is described in the introduction:

“I like to think of psychobilly as what happens to the rockabilly crowd once midnight strikes.”

Besides all of the gorgeous artwork, there’s also a playlist running through the book, with each new song flagged by a jukebox for rockabilly or vinyl record for psychobilly.

There are quotes scattered throughout the book by the artists and I think Leon Ryan nailed it with “I’d rather draw something to be hung and enjoyed in dorms and filthy garages than ignored in a respectable gallery.”

I like an eclectic mix of bits and pieces people call art, including some that reside in respectable galleries. Rockabilly/psychobilly artists, though, these are my people! There’s an honesty to this artwork that I love. These are people inspired by such awesomeness as cartoons, video games, movies, and music.

I’m no art critic, thank goodness, but the gaggle of butts and breasts aside (I’m not going to whinge because it’s part of the style) I really enjoyed this art. There’s something immediately appealing to me about a style that doesn’t care what you think because it’s just doing its thing, whether you’re paying attention or not.

There was a lot to like in this book and so many artists to appreciate. If you’re in the market for a rockabilly/psychobilly tattoo, you’ll find plenty of inspiration here. There’s even an artist index at the end of the book where the artists’ websites are found so you can find even more awesomeness.

I don’t have a specific rockabilly favourite but some of the ones that drew my attention included:

🎙 Candy’s cat eyed woman with the orange beehive that is practically exploding with odds and sods, including three cars, some bats, a skeleton, fluffy dice with teeth, balloons and this green guy of some species holding a checkered flag. Can’t imagine it? Find it here - https://www.moodswingsonthenet.com/products/strange-do-by-candy-rockabilly-retro-woman-tattoo-canvas-art-print. One day I will figure out the image html thing here on Goodreads. Until then please be happy that I finally figured out the link html thing 😊) Candy’s website is www.candywild.com.

🎙 Nano Barbero’s Rockalavera Rockabilly Weekend México 2015 poster which you can see here - https://mobile.twitter.com/Rockevolucion/status/543246370404970496/photo/1. Nano’s website is www.nanobarbero.net.

🎙 Mark Rehkopf’s ‘I don’t know what the hell is going on here but I love it’ piece that I’ve discovered is the cover art for Nick Johnston’s Public Display of Infection. It’s got UFO’s, eyeballs in trench coats overlooking the scene from the top of buildings, and there’s too much else to describe but it’s awesome! And holy wow! I just discovered Kursula Black and Love Hate Robots have backstories found here - http://www.superpunch.net/2012/07/illustration-roundup_3867.html. Mark’s website is www.markermail100.wixsie.com/mark-rehkopf

In the psychobilly section I really liked:

🧟‍♀️ Miss Cherry Martini’s style but couldn’t choose a favourite so you can find her art here - www.misscherrymartini.com.

🧟‍♂️ Zach Bellissimo’s art, which is here - https://seizuredemon.deviantart.com. I wandered around for a while and didn’t find the illustration I was looking for (yet), although I found so much else to love.

🧟‍♀️ Kimberly Poizon’s pages, so of course I looked her up too! Her art can be found here - https://zombiekimberly.deviantart.com.

🧟‍♂️ Marcus Jones’ Zombie Pin-Up Anatomy. (I was going to leave it at that, with three artists in each category, but then I found this image and my coffee almost escaped through my nose in a very attractive snort.) You can find a black and white version of it here - https://marcusjones.deviantart.com/art/Pin-up-Zombie-Anatomy-299996622, but the full colour one in the book is so much better. Marcus’ art can be found at www.screamingdemons.co.uk.

It may seem I’ve already shown you all of the Woohoo! moments in this book but I haven’t even come close. I’ve shown you about the equivalent of a dollop of cream on top of a mountainous ice cream sundae. Sure, you can enjoy that dollop but if you don’t stay long enough to try the various flavours of ice cream, sprinkles and hot chocolate fudge sauce 🤤 you won’t realise what you’re missing out on. It’s highly likely your biggest Woohoo! moments are still inside the book waiting for you to discover them.

Going into this I expected to find maybe one or two pictures I’d love and a whole pile of ‘yeah, it was okay’. I’m leaving it trying to figure out if I can afford to buy myself a copy because this is a serious contender to be added to my coffee table for future Woohoo! moments.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. for introducing me to so many extraordinarily talented artists I may not have come across otherwise.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

A visual road trip from Route 66 to Route 666, this rockin’ collection of more than 600 artworks presents the unapologetically fun and undeniably cool spirit of rockabilly and psychobilly. The 55 artists featured here represent a global subculture and are some of today’s best lowbrow and cartoon artists, the de facto styles of the genre. Whether you’re burning for nostalgia or learning more about the phenomena, this massive collection is a study of some of the main themes of modern rockabilly culture, respect the past, be proudly defiant, and stay true to what you like. Here you’ll see a broad range of stylistic influence from the 1930s to the 1990s as well as other sub-pop cultures like jazz, ska, surf, burlesque, punk, and horror adorning album art, show posters, comics, pin-ups, and more. Complete with a playlist curated by the artists, this is a must-have volume of art by artist who are finding success despite being outsiders.

*4.5 stars*

My main attraction to this collection was the art itself. I have always felt like I was born in the wrong decade, feeling more at home with art from the 1940-50s...and this collection delves right into the heart of that era for me.

This collection - in particularly the Rockabilly section - is an amazing cross-section of art that defined a period in time. Cars, girls, music, sex and generally a working class feeling (e.g. gas stations, cafes...), a lot of the work in this section just blows me away with the skills, talents and originality.

The psychobilly section is just as cool - just with zombies, vampires and the like. Think Halloween Rockabilly! Or maybe Alternate Reality of the Rockabilly Era. Either way, the art is very cool and I think this collection will be a welcome addition to my collection.

The only thing that stopped this being a 5-star book is simply repetition. It is the nature of this sort of book that there will be a lot of similar art, and that can be a bit off-putting for the average art appreciator. Find themselves skipping pages without really appreciating each page and artist in their own rights.


Paul
ARH

I enjoyed looking at this book. I'm not sure it's my favorite style of illustration, but I think it is a quality example of this type of work. Nicely done!

This is a great coffee table book for those interested in either rockabilly/psychobilly music or the low-brow genre of art, and a real treasure for those who love both. It is an extensive anthology, and truly fun to look through. The only thing I wished for when going through the book was a bit more detail on the artists. Some have quotes along with their work, and the index at the end gives the country, and web address of where to find them, but I would have loved a little more included next to their art. Besides that the book accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do - showcases this culture, specifically the art and music associated with it.

A visual road trip indeed. The all encompassing artists represented within this book truly capture the experience of the genre. A true work of art!

This was a fun book to read and look over. Most of the art is in Rockabilly style, but I have to admit that the Psychobilly is my favorite. It is filled with monsters, album covers, and words from the artists who illustrated them. This is a coffee table book that begs you to flip through it and appreciate a form of art not seen frequently where I reside.

A gorgeous, sexy, and tongue-in-cheek collection of artwork - if overwhelmingly white and sometimes a little male gazey for me. I can only imagine what an outrageous coffee table book this would make (I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley).

Art collection of the rockabilly/psychobilly aesthetic. Pinups, finks, and wolves galore. Tattoos, cars, and big hair! Vivid illustrations from many of the coolest genre inspired artists. Of course, rockabilly culture revolves around the music, so the song recommendations every few pages were a nice addition. Queue them up on your favorite music app to fully enjoy the experience.

Although there are lots of gorgeous illustrations and paintings to look at, I did notice a quite a few of my favorite underground psychobilly artists were not included in this book. I did end up seeing quite a few new pieces of art, so not necessarily a drawback.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an unbiased review.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I love everything vintage and retro and this book has it all. There are beautiful artworks in it and i found really amazing artists.

Rockabilly Psychobilly: An Art Anthology by Jamies Kendall is an illustrated collection of art from posters, movies, album covers, and just plain art. Rockabilly and its followers are described by Kendall as:

Rockabilly is the country boy pluckin’ away on his banjo, who gets off at the bus station and plays a few dive bars with such feeling that it compels people to get up and shake a leg (in a way those classically trained boys never could).

She’s that scrappy urchin chasing chickens and climbing trees, who grows up, fills out, gets her hair did, and before you know it, flyboys are painting her on the nose of their planes.

I believe the great appeal of modern rockabilly culture is that, at its core, it’s a working-class, people’s renaissance.

Psychobilly is more of the same but includes a bit of horror in the form of animated zombies, ghouls, and werewolves. Both contain women who as mentioned above would be right at home on a nose of a WWII bomber. The men sport pompadour ducktail haircuts and leather jackets. There are plenty of hot rods and more than a few motorcycles in this alternate reality of the 1950s. Kendall presents music choices to accompany your reading or rather viewing. Bands range from Stand up bass to Queen (yes, Freddy Mercury's band). Psychobilly includes The Reverand Horton Heat to the Nekromantix. The music adds to the feel and the variations in themes.

Kendall knows his stuff and writes an informative introduction and occasionally adds comments to the art.  He is also the voice and guitar of the psychobilly band Batmobile. Also listed are the websites of the artist used in this collection for the reader after more art or more information.  A great collection of (warped) 1950s America captured in art and music.

An interesting collection of art influenced by rockabilly/psychobilly music and social scenes, "kustom kulture" cars, b-movies and horror movies, tattoo art, and more. I love the style, but honestly, after a while, these started to look very much the same page after page - I was expecting a bit more creativity and uniqueness among the various artists.

Wonderful artwork and a really interesting book!
Strongly recommended!
Many thanks to Schiffer Publishing Ltd. and Netgalley

As a former burlesque star I was so excited to see this book! Absolutely beautiful pieces of art and well put together. 5/5