Satta Massagana
| Satta Massagana | ||||
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| Studio album by The Abyssinians | ||||
| Released | Original: 1976 Reissues: 1977, 1993, 2007 |
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| Recorded | Harry J. Studio & Joe Gibbs Studio, Kingston, Jamaica 1975-76 | |||
| Genre | Reggae | |||
| Length | 33:58 | |||
| Label | Jam Sounds, Heartbeat | |||
| Producer | The Abyssinians | |||
| The Abyssinians chronology | ||||
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| Alternative covers | ||||
Forward On To Zion cover
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Original Heartbeat cover from 1993
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Satta Massagana is a roots reggae album released by The Abyssinians officially in 1976. It is widely considered The Abyssinians' crowning achievement and a classic roots reggae album.
The title track "Satta Massagana" was a huge hit and has been versioned numerous times by both The Abyssinians and other artists since. It has even been adopted by some Rastafarian groups as a hymn used during services. The song, which translates from the Amharic language as "He Gave Praise", was originally recorded for Studio One in 1969, but the label's owner, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd declined to release it.
The Abyssinians debut album has had a very complex release history. The first unofficial editions, very limited in quantity, were released by Clive Hunt in 1975. The first official release occurred in Jamaica in 1976 on Pentrate Label, issued by Clive Hunt and Geoffrey Chung, and shortly after in the United States on Jam Sounds.
The following years, 1977 and 1978, saw the album released by three labels under the title Forward On To Zion. The album was released in the United Kingdom on the UK Klik Chart Sounds and Different labels, as well as on Bernard Collins' own Clinch label. Similarly, Clive Hunt's US-based Azul label released the album under the title Satta. A note on track-listings: the Klik & Different releases reverted to the original track listing of the limited pre-release editions which placed the title track as the final track, furthermore, the Azul edition renamed some tracks and did not include "African Race".
The album would see numerous re-releases over the next decade, including in 1988 by Clinch and in 1989 by the Blue Moon label.
In 1993 the album was released on compact disc for the first time by Heartbeat Records. This edition included four previously unreleased bonus tracks. And once again in 2007 as a deluxe edition which included four additional bonus tracks.
The title track off the album 'Satta Massagana' was covered by Ethiopian dub outfit Dub Colossus in 2011 and released on Real World Records.
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