Audley Rollen re-releases 1997 album ‘Be Wise’

Be Wise, the 1997 album by Audley Rollen, was re-released on October 26. Released through CD Baby, it is available on all digital platforms. Rollen, who is based in South Florida, considers Be Wise among the strongest of his 13 albums. It contains the R&B ballad, Between The Sheets, and a cover of Things in Life, originally done by Dennis Brown. Those tracks were released in 1992. Between The Sheets features Frank Cornelius and Sister Rose of soul group The Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose, best known for the 1972 classic, Too Late to Turn Back Now. Be Wise has a strong R&B flavour, a contrast to the roots-reggae songs Rollen recorded during the 1970s for producers such as Lloyd “Matador” Daley and Keith Hudson. “I’ve always liked and did ballads from I lived in Jamaica. This was even before I was a member of The Youth Professional Band that included Robbie Shakespeare (drummer), Benbow Creary (keyboardist), Touter Harvey (trombonist), Vin Gordon and Noel (guitarist),” said Rollen. “During that time, while doing the hotel and club circuit, we did quite a bit of R&B, so after doing a ballad while performing in Miami, Frank Cornelious introduced himself to me and commended the performance, and invited me to stop by (at his studio) and I went by and recorded some of the reggae tracks and the two ballads that are on Be Wise,” he continued. Things in Life went number one on the South Florida reggae charts. Between The Sheets also did well in that region, as well as in Jamaica where its video enjoyed steady rotation. Raised in the Kingston communities of Greenwich Farm and Allman Town, Rollen started his career during the late 1950s in the Vere Johns Opportunity Knocks talent contest. Many of his songs in the early 1970s, including Repatriation is A Must and Hallelujah, were inspired by his Rastafarian faith. Rollen, who migrated to the United States in the 1970s, became a Christian over 20 years ago and is an ordained minister of religion. — Howard Campbell