The Listening Post - Septenary: The 1981 Listening Post - Fortress

Thursday, August 4, 2022

Fortress - Hands in the Till

#673

1981 Housekeeping

Fortress

Hands in the Till

Genre: Working Class Rock

4 out of 5

Highlights:

How Do I Exist

Requiem

Breakin’ Free

You know how we joke that there are a “Marillion” prog bands? The same goes for working class pub rock stadium bands like Fortress.

Who were they?

I don’t know.

How’d they get a record deal? It’s 1981. EVERYONE is getting one.

This album touches the edges of Christian Rock and that’s not a surprise once I drilled down into Guitarist Erik Turner’s Facebook bio.

Turner’s guitar work is blazing, to be honest. Even if the songs are a bit rote.

Rote aside, there’s little reason this thing couldn’t move a few units. It’s right in the AOR wheelhouse.

Sometimes I like to look guys like these on Facebook to see if I know people who know them.

Oh, yes, indeed I do. If someone wants to tell Charlie Souza that this album rocks and his bass work was pocketlicious, I wouldn’t complain.

In a different world we’d be seeing Fortress playing The Canyon in Agoura Hills for 40 years.

But here’s a bit of tid:

Snuffy Walden (!!!!) is listed as Rhythm Guitar on this thing.

Suffy Motherfucking West Wing, Thirtysomething Walden.

Everyone’s gotta start somewhere. I assume that’s him on “Back on the Path”.