The Abyssinians' "Satta Massagana" is one of the great albums of Jamaican music. It is now out in a deluxe edition.

Although Jamaican music has always been singles driven, there have been a couple dozen unforgettable LPs and "Satta Massagana," released in the late '70s is one of them. With its strong, but soft bed of rhythm provided by some of the music's best players, the veteran vocal trio led by Bernard Collins sang its heart out.

Songs like the title track, the opener "Declaration of Rights" and "Y Mas Gan" weren't unfamiliar to Jamaican audiences, which had previously heard all three a decade previous. But these versions became iconic, as did other album tracks like "African Race" and "I and I."

Fourteen years ago Heartbeat reissued the disc with four bonus tracks and now revisits it again with four more tracks: "Jerusalem," "Leggo Beast Dub," "Abendigo (extended mix)" and "Poor Jason Whyte (extended mix)."

With its plaintive vocals, velvety roots sound and message of positive protest, "Satta Massagana" feels ageless. Find out for yourself with this new deluxe edition.

Also from Heartbeat are some new reissues of great Studio One material.

Decades ago, Coxsone Dodd stuck it to the bootleggers by issuing legal copies of bootlegs of his productions, even using the bootleggers' artwork and album titles.

Now, Heartbeat continues the tradition with The Gladiators' "Studio One Singles," originally issued as a French bootleg.

The Gladiators disc has a bit of overlap with 1998's "Bongo Red" compilation, but not much and there are great tracks here among the 23 cuts. Most exciting is the first appearance, to my knowledge, of the lovely "Sonia" and its b-side version on CD.

"When Rhythm Was King" is an 18-track various artists compilation with some landmark rock steady cuts like Basil Daley's "Hold Me Baby" and The Heptones' "Fattie Fattie." There are also '70s tunes by Johnny Osbourne, Wailing Souls, Dillinger, Sugar Minott, Al Campbell and Michigan & Smiley. The LP version has two bonus cuts, reversing the gimmick used to sell CDs 20 years ago when bonus cuts were put on the CD instead of on the vinyl.

Top of the heap? Alexander Henry's "Please Be True," which has a killer rhythm that was later much versioned, and a rare early mix of Bob Andy's signature "Unchained."