Turn Up the Radio
Autograph, 1984. Solo by Steve Lynch.
Steve Lynch built his solo around two-handed tapping patterns, turning a radio anthem into a technique showcase.
Turn Up the Radio is a straightforward mid-1980s radio anthem, big chorus and all, but Steve Lynch used his solo to show what two-handed tapping could do. Rather than a quick tapped flourish, he builds whole passages from tapped patterns, with wide, sweeping intervals that sound almost like a keyboard arpeggio. The effect is bright and slightly dizzying, yet the solo stays hooky enough to belong on a single. At a time when tapping was the technique every player wanted to learn, this track put an unusual, systematic version of it onto the airwaves. Listen for the wide leaps between tapped notes, which give the lines a shimmering, cascading shape instead of a simple up-and-down run.
Turn Up the Radio by Autograph is ranked #268 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Steve Lynch and the song was released in 1984. It appears on 1 lists, placing as high as #49 (Classic Rock (Louder)).
In our lists
- The 25 Greatest Glam Guitar Solos — #13
- Tapping — #11
Sources
Who played the guitar solo on Turn Up the Radio?
Steve Lynch played the solo on Autograph's Turn Up the Radio (1984).
Where does Turn Up the Radio rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#268 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 1 of them.