09.17.2021
ELVIS COSTELLO IS THE ONLY GUITAR TEACHER YOU’LL EVER NEED
People: Jordan Runtagh: September 16 2021
The legendary musician helps listeners get in touch with their “inner
idiot” and discover the uncomplicated joy of strumming a six-string in
the new Audible Original How to Play the Guitar and Y
“This isn’t, strictly speaking, an instructional manual,” Elvis
Costello confesses near the beginning of How to Play Guitar and Y, “but
a work of comedic philosophy.” That’s as apt a description as any for
this new Audible Original production (premiering Thursday), a charmingly
idiosyncratic blend of Costello’s musical and storytelling brilliance.
Like his extensive back catalogue, the 96-minute soulful seminar resists
easy classification. It’s partially a music history lesson, though our
research has uncovered suspiciously little about Ivan the Terrible’s
musically-inclined brother, Dennis. It’s not quite a memoir, though it’s
packed with wisdom accrued from Costello’s legendary career. It’s almost
a guitar masterclass, albeit one that eschews classical notation in
favor of three-chord vamps promised to “give voice to your heart’s
desire.”