Happy the Man - Ibby It Is

Stanley Whitaker guitars, vocal; Kit Watkins keyboards, recorder; Frank Wyatt keyboards, woodwinds; Rick Kennell bass; Ron Riddle drums

[@yveslatorte7925]

extraordinary progressive group, unique from the 70s British scene yet tall with any of them... usually funny or clever song titles: Ibbi = "it is" in Latin; so you get in the translation "it is, it is" a masterpiece taking a view across the first three studio records... It summarizes their gift: original harmonic colors, consummate musical technique and narrative emotional resonance 7-8 minutes is a nearly perfect duration as a complete excursion without need for "more" of anything this is electric chamber music from the late 20th century composed and performed with passion and delicacy HTM: thank you for so many moments of joy

[@johncurtis2112]

Such a great album. Frank Wyatt, RIP, was such a great writer of instrumental prog. On the other hand, Kit Watkins' solo - starting at 6:17 here - literally changed my life. What a great album. Did I say that already?

[@douglasharr941]

Listen to the precision of the genius maestros. Kit syncopates it all with synth - Frank with Rhodes. Stanley nails sliding leads at the 3 min mark. Kit gets seriously precise by 5 min followed by more winding lead melody by Stanley (Frank cranking on Rhodes throughout) - now at 6.25 min the sh__ breaks loose and Kit nails screaming leads - leads like NO ONE who had played the Moog - sure sometimes Wakeman, or Emerson, but Kit has a gentle touch more like a clarinet, with Stanley right next to him on his track at the 7 min mark. Mind melting excellence. A radio station played this before a Camel special, and we were about to go to LA to see Camel play the live Breathless tour- never got to see HTM live because Arista records unfortunately dropped them after this album - but now Stanley and his wife are coaches for my music, and good friends to my heart. And, I still write Kit as often as I think of him, which is often :)

[@davidryan7386]

kit was THE moog monster of the 70's.

[@blueeyesol]

Thanks so much for posting! This band is killer and the album Crafty hands is one of their best works. They are so under-rated. They should have been as popular as Yes and ELP as any band. Been such a long time since I heard this, I can't thank you enough for posting it!

[@austinmunday8190]

Can they put music like this on the radio

[@DeanWatsonMusic]

I love Ron Riddle's fills .... all over the place - excellent!

[@oliasofsunhillow7116]

Underappreciated, underrated band!

[@davidryan7386]

up there with: Yes, Krimson, Tull, Genesis et al. northern virginia's very own HtM

[@larrybenigno4919]

Agree 100% David. Harrisonburg, Virginia's best!

[@craigdavidson4797]

holy cow...!!! never even knew about these guys.... awesome music....!!!!!

[@kuujjuaq58]

Glad you like HTM!

[@douglasharr941]

the greatest ever American prog band - only Dixie Dregs and mid period Kansas comes close....

[@davidryan7386]

@@douglasharr941 dregs. kansas has how many songs you really wanna hear 2x's?

[@JohnLRice]

@@davidryan7386 At least 50% of the first 5 Kansas albums I still listen to on a regular basis! 👌🥰👍

[@rodbastos95]

Progressive Music is supreme!Beautiful instrumental theme.

[@tomcondon4472]

Yep

[@wildweedle6012]

WAAAY ahead of their time.

[@999manman]

Frank Wyatt used to run a carpentry shop in our town...no idea where he is now.

[@douglasharr941]

he is preparing to release a new album - Pedal Giant Animals

[@katemurphy1915]

999manman He just released new music as Frank Wyatt and friends. It’s nice...sounds much like HTM ss I imagined. Giant Pedal Animals is good also.

[@showmeyourmammaryglands3519]

Ron Wyatt discovered Noah's ark.

[@wilcox660]

Sadly, Frank died this week after a long battle with cancer.

[@Zenkman]

Wonderful Music !!!

[@lauropimenta7212]

Muito bom, não tiveram o reconhecimento merecido

[@timt9625]

The beginning reminds me of "Boys In The Band" by Gentle Giant

[@vladdrac4885]

esta banda la escuche en la radio futuro en el 2006 por primera vez! ¿'algun weon por aca aparte de mi?

[@pmfith]

There has never been, nor will there ever be, another band like HTM. Truly remarkable and original. Brilliance that, as usual, goes unrecognized by the main music industry or its drone-like audience.

[@tomotoole7546]

This is seriously fantastic. Their first album does eclipse this, but they are both so good and different. One of the best bands ever, I was lucky to see them a couple of times.

[@joluijten6313]

Über nice 😇😇😇

[@katemurphy1915]

Unfortunately, You Tube won’t let me subscribe to this channel; this problem is a You Tube malfunction that can only be corrected from your end. I apologize for complaining about a You Tube malfunction. Thank you for uploading this brilliant music. Every time I try to subscribe I receive error messages. I promise to stop whining.

[@katemurphy1915]

Unfortunately, You Tube won’t let me subscribe to this channel; this problem is a You Tube malfunction that can only be corrected from your end. I apologize for complaining about a You Tube malfunction. Thank you for the upload.