House Prices: Changing The City World: The Global Urban Competitiveness Report (2017–2018)

Like the Motown Sound of the mid-60s, the Philly Sound of the 70s did not suddenly appear overnight with the establishment of Philadelphia International Records and the rise to international stardom of acts such as the O Jays, the Three Degrees and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. This new Kent release Nothing But A House Party focuses its attention on the years 1967-1971 and provides a first-class overview of how recording in Philadelphia moved on from the lightweight Cameo-Parkway sound of the early 60s to become considerably more inventive and sophisticated. Most of the musicians heard on these tracks became part of MFSB, the musical backbone of nearly every black American recording that came out of Philly between 1971 and 1976. Many of the songwriters and producers also went on to far greater fame in the 70s, after honing their craft with these and many other classics. Some artists featured here had fallen by the wayside by the turn of the 1970s, while others had moved their recording base elsewhere but all played a significant role in developing Philadelphia's standing as one of one of soul music's most significant cities of the 20th century. With the kind of copiously annotated and illustrated booklet and top-notch mastering you would expect from Kent, this is a release no serious soul fan should overlook.

The Tangekanic Live album made on the USA leg of the 2017 tour. Tangekanic is a hybrid band playing music by The Tangent and Karmakanic. Feature Jonas Reingold, Andy Tillison, Luke Machin, Goran Edman and Steve Roberts. Mainly new material is on show here showing the two bands off at their best - tracks include Karmakanic's epic "God The Universe and Everythings Else No-One Really Cares About" and The Tangent's hard hitting instrumental "Doctor Livingstone I Presume". More than an hour of great music including a track unavailable anywhere else…

When it comes to dance music, there is only Ministry Of Sound. Now comes House Heads, the album for every house purist. From the pioneers to the modern day superstars of the scene, this is the ultimate house tracklist. House Heads features the biggest tracks from Disciples, Jax Jones, Martin Solveig, Tom Zanetti, MK, Gorgon City, Blonde, Alex Ross and Duke Dumont. The selection continues with the likes of Offaiah, Riton, Oliver Heldens and many more. No house journey would be complete without taking things down a notch with a selection of chilled hits that continue the party later on. For an essential collection of the greatest house hits, look no further than House Heads from Ministry Of Sound.

For the whole of the 1970s, the Philly Sound was a leading and immediately identifiable component of black American music. A crack team of producers, songwriters and musicians raised worldwide awareness of Philadelphia soul to the level the Motown Sound had enjoyed during the previous decade. Anyone with half an ear for music could spot a Philly soul record by its opening bars, whatever the location of the label on which it appeared. In the same way the Motown Sound really came together after the company started recording almost exclusively in its own premises, the Philly Sound quickly took shape once Joe Tarsia, the former chief engineer at Cameo-Parkway Studios, opened Sigma Sound in 1968.