The Best of Kay Kay and the Rays

A compilation of three CDs Kay Kay and the Rays made from 1999-2003, this Odessa, Texas, group’s Best of gets off to a rousing start with “Lone Star Justice,” a scathing indictment of that state’s judicial system ("We got justice in the Lone Star state, but if you’re poor you might have to wait"). This theme is also examined on “Texas Justice-Billy’s Story” ("Texas justice, the price is so high, it’s the best that money can buy"). They also pull no punches when dealing with powerful corporations as on “Enron Field,” which gets under way with a horn-fuelled Stax Records-like vibe before getting down to business with lines like this: “They lined their own pockets, y’all, they’re tryin’ to shift the blame.” It’s exactly this uncompromising view of the Texas social structure that got songs like these banned from airplay—and that’s a shame, too, since the music underpinning the lyrics is pure-D dynamite! It’s not all political, though: Kay Kay Greenwade’s a big lady—one CD is titled Big Bad Girl—with a powerful voice to match, and she also addresses other issues such as on “Love Me, Baby,” on which she practically moans, over yet another powerful horn-soaked groove, “c’mon and love me, baby.” Buy it for the lyrics, stick around for the musical grooves!