Ile Kallio

ILE KALLIO

Irock (1977)

Get Out (1980)

FinnArctic-esittely:

Ilkka "Ile" Kallio was born in Oulu in 1955. Five years later his family moved to Helsinki and then to Espoo, where Ile met Sami Hurmerinta. While in his teens, he developed an interest in pop music together with his brother Pera and Hurmerinta. Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Jimi Hendrix were their first fave bands. Pera later got an acoustic Landola guitar for Christmas, but it was Ile who mainly got to play it. When they were 13, Ile and Sami formed their first band Witchcraft with drummer Jukka Bonsdorff. Their debut performance was on June 19, 1969 at Ile's home, with friends and relatives as audience.

Remu Aaltonen asked Ile to join Hurriganes at the end of 1971. However, being only 16, Ile didn't feel his skills were on the same level with the others, and Remu's strong leadership was too much for him, so he quit and recommended Sami Hurmerinta as his replacement. Eventually Albert Järvinen became the new Hurriganes guitarist.

In 1975 Remu hinted at Ile that Hurriganes needed a new guitarist - he intended to sack Järvinen because of his drinking problem and lack of discipline. Ile rejoined the band and became extremely popular with the female fans.

In 1977 Ile made his first solo album "Irock", a decent effort despite the fact that the vocal performances still make the man embarrassed. Well-chosen covers (James Taylor's "Night Owl", The Beatles' "Drive My Car" and Spirit's "I Got a Line on You") blend in well with Ile's and co-producer Richard Stanley's originals. Extra thumbs up for the stylish front cover!

In 1979 Ile planned to quit Hurriganes after a tour in Sweden. Remu heard of his plans and asked him to leave. Together with his brother Pera, Ile formed Pera & The Dogs who did two albums, "Dogfood" (1979) and "Radiator" (1980) plus a bunch of non-LP singles. Success eluded the band, probably because they were ahead of their time, so The Dogs dissolved and Ile released two more solos: "Get Out" (1980) and "Rocks and Stones" (1982).

After a short-lived project called Diesel (one single in 1982: "Love Machine / I Want You") Ile joined Hurriganes again and played on their two final LPs.

After Hurriganes, Ile started making music for TV programs and commercials. A Finnish-language solo album, "Tänä yönä", followed in 1986.

Ile met singer and actress Kaija Kärkinen in 1990 and became a collaborator and husband to her. The duo Kaija Kärkinen & Ile Kallio have released ten albums of light pop, with continuing success.

Get Out on varsinainen seisova pöytä. Kaikkea on tarjolla: perusjyrää (Truck Stop Rat, Get Out of Denver, Like a Lady), hassua novelty-kamaa (kireästi laulettu tippurilaulu Ain't Gonna Sing), pseudo-reggaeta (nyyhkyisällä äänellä laulettu Spectacles), 50-luvulle kurkottelevaa sipakkaa rokettia foneineen ja ulisevine taustalauluineen (Churchbell Boogie), herkkää balladia (Without You), The Who -cover (Call Me Lightning), diskoa (Disco Heroes) ja näyttävä skittainsrumentaali (Stingray). Mr. X eli toinen tuottaja Richard Stanley laulaa biisit Ain't Gonna Sing ja Disco Heroes. Koko 40-minuuttinen tämmöistä vaihtelua tuottaa kuitenkin lievän ähkyn, jossain vaiheessa rupean aina vilkuilemaan kelloa. Silti minusta paras Ilen sooloista.

Rocks and Stonesin olen kerran antanut lipsua sormien ohi Black and Whitessa, enkä ole sitä toista kertaa nähnyt. On minulla CD-R-kopio kuitenkin, siirsin sen itse kirjastovinyyliltä ja jakelin FinnArcticissa. Perusrokkia, parempi kuin kehnosti laulettu Irock ja pysyy yhdellä raiteella. Ei kuitenkaan jaksa kohota maanmainioksi teokseksi.

Kallion Tänä yönä -soolo vuodelta 1986 osoittautui yllättävän kovaksi, kun sen Spotifysta kuuntelin. Odotin Riki Sorsan suomenkielisen tuotannon kaltaista lässyilyä, mutta olikin tanakkaa rokkia.