The Soldier On The Wall takes its title from Hadrian’s Roman structure which divides Harvey’s native Scotland from the Sassenach hordes and the tone and timbre of the late maverick showman is very much concerned with war games. Containing most of the flamboyant elements of Alex’s Vertigo period, when raucous hits like “Delilah” brought him a modicum of notoriety, TSOTW is littered with narrative items like “Flowers Mr Florist” and “Snowshoes Thompson”. When archaeology becomes the new rock’n’roll, they’ll be playing this on the ramparts.
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