Song Review – Kiefer Sutherland’s “Not Enough Whiskey”
As if we needed another 50-something or 60-something male actor taking a stab at a country music career. Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Jeff Bridges, Billy Bob Thorton. Who am I missing? Now Kiefer Sutherland is taking a sabbatical from squeezing every last everloving drop of entertainment value out of FOX’s “24” concept to launch his own country music side piece, complete with a lead single, an album promised sometime this summer, and a 25-city tour starting in April.
It all just feels so achingly predictable: successful and well-off actor gets bored and wants to explore his country music fantasy. The predictability of it all is almost as hard to overlook as staring down Kiefer Sutherland in a cowboy hat and not seeing Jack Bauer or that vampire with the bleached mullet he played in Lost Boys. It’s like watching Garth Brooks trying out for the Mets. Just because you’re loaded and have a hot wife doesn’t mean every single one of your fantasies in life can come true boys and girls.
But I have to tell you, this “Not Enough Whiskey” from ol’ Kiefer is not half bad. It’s traditional country, it’s executed fairly well, and like all of these other 50-year-old actors who want to scratch their musical bone, Kiefer doesn’t really have to worry about the commercial impact of the music; he’s just doing it because he wants to. So while these projects are never particularly good, because playing good country music—just like acting or playing professional baseball—takes incredible discipline and lifelong commitment, they also tends to be much better than what you might hear Bobby Bones blasting during the morning commute.
Jack Bauer can diffuse a bomb and save the planet two hours after banging the President’s secretary, but he can’t sing. But neither can Tom Waits. Instead of trying though, Sutherland pens a song that works within his vocal limitations, and maybe even flatters what he has for a singing voice. The raspy, whiskey-riddled tone lends to the depressed and lonesome mood of this song. It almost reminds one of Mike Ness of Social Distortion and his country side projects—not nearly as good, but forlorn and heartbroken in spirit.
“Not Enough Whiskey” doesn’t really go anywhere in the lyricism, and I’m not sure the chorus actually works like it’s supposed to, or how Sutherland set out for it to. But this song’s desire is to capture a mood, not recite poetry necessarily, and in this pursuit it does so fairly well. The chord structure is fetching, and steel guitar makes anything sound better. I even think the video is tolerable. Apparently Sutherland scouted the location for it, and by playing a string of live shows and co-writing his own material, at least he’s putting the effort out to pursue this lark as authentically as he can.
I’m not itching to score tickets for when Keifer comes rolling through town, or looking to augment my list of most-anticipated albums in 2016 to include his upcoming Down in a Hole album. But shit, there’s worse.
March 29, 2016 @ 6:42 pm
His voice is somewhere shy of 80+ year old Willie Nelson and the songwriting is a little simple…but this ain’t half bad. Not something I’d seek out, but it’s clear his idea of country music is…well…country music! That, by itself, is a refreshing change of pace nowadays.
June 6, 2016 @ 5:41 am
Like a fake Johnny cash
March 29, 2016 @ 6:49 pm
Hell, he’s still more country than Sam Hunt. I did a double take when I saw who this article was about.
March 29, 2016 @ 6:51 pm
I can’t help but dig it. It’s a good song with a good sound. The video definitely helps to sell the entire thing too. I’ll check out the album.
April 1, 2016 @ 7:39 am
does that hat have authentic wear grime or did he get it from the prop department that way?
April 1, 2016 @ 9:12 pm
Maybe, who knows? He took time off from acting to pursue a team roping career at one point, so anything is possible.
March 29, 2016 @ 7:14 pm
I’m a stickler for vocals. I couldn’t make it a full minute into the song, there’s not enough steel guitar in the world to make Kiefer Sutherland sound good.
March 29, 2016 @ 7:35 pm
I’m not so much a stickler for vocals, and I couldn’t make it either. His singing was worse than I expected after reading the article and comments, to be honest.
March 30, 2016 @ 8:34 am
Stephanie… I couldn’t make it a full minute either. I love the show “24” but he needs to stick with what he knows which is acting.
Remember when John Schneider tried to be a country singer in the mid-eighties? You are probably too young to remember that.
March 30, 2016 @ 8:41 am
The difference being that John Schneider could actually sing.
March 30, 2016 @ 7:05 pm
I am, in fact, too young. But I’ve reached the point where I’m actually happy to be “too young to remember” stuff. Usually these days I feel like it’s always me saying that to others.
March 31, 2016 @ 6:12 am
not everybody can sound as good as Don Johnson….. just sayin.
March 29, 2016 @ 7:16 pm
It doesn’t sound bad at all. But I can’t watch him sing into the camera in the video and take it seriously. I just can’t. I keep expecting him to stop singing and shout “THERE’S NO TIME!!!”
March 29, 2016 @ 7:21 pm
I liked it. His voice has a kind of Leonard Cohen thing going on.
March 29, 2016 @ 8:02 pm
He does — like Cohen with a dash of Tom Waits. 🙂 Pleasant tune and instrumentation, too.
March 29, 2016 @ 8:08 pm
I think fans of Cohen and Waits and other throaty singers will “get” his voice a lot quicker than most. I wouldn’t judge anyone for not liking it, but I think Kiefer does well for what God gave him.
March 30, 2016 @ 6:27 am
On a side note, Sweet GA Brown just released a new album; the first song on the album is called “Whiskey”.
September 9, 2016 @ 7:23 am
People who limit themselves to silky smooth vocalists are missing out on a lot of amazing words, stories, ideas, etc.
March 29, 2016 @ 7:51 pm
This could be a plot twist in 24. Lol
March 29, 2016 @ 7:51 pm
saw him and his band in Bakersfield last month. better than i expected. the band was tight. there sure were a load of women in front trying to catch his eye…..
March 29, 2016 @ 8:06 pm
‘ol Kiefer is still the eastern tenderfoot ‘Doc’ from the Young Guns movies to me… His character lines were used to overlap songs for Jon Bon Jovi’s album for that movie… I think he’s playin off the spirit of that album. https://youtu.be/1BlpT0SnY0I
March 29, 2016 @ 8:48 pm
“Steel guitar makes anything sound better”
Truer words have never been spoken.
March 30, 2016 @ 4:44 pm
Ain’t that a fact Big Red …..its a symphony on a table
March 29, 2016 @ 9:53 pm
“He’s gone country, look at them boots
He’s gone country, back to his roots
He’s gone country, a new kinda suit
He’s gone country…………..
Everybody‘s gone country…….
The whole world‘s gone country…”
– Bob McDill
March 30, 2016 @ 11:56 am
Yeah, except for the people on country radio.
March 29, 2016 @ 10:15 pm
Not going to dog him… I mean that’s probably as best as I could do if I had his money to put together a backing band and a damn good producer. His heart’s in the right place it seems. If he appreciates country music and wants to take a stab, so be it.
Why is Trigger listed as the Boomswagglers drummer on their FB page I wonder….
March 29, 2016 @ 11:02 pm
John Corbett from Northern Exposure put out a decent album in 2006. Only actor turned country singer i can think of who was any good. This one is maybe ok, but don’t think I’ll buy it.
March 30, 2016 @ 12:50 am
At least the title isn’t ”Not enough Fireball”. That’s why it isn’t half bad.
March 30, 2016 @ 1:34 am
I thought you’d established in a previous post that Kevin Bacon wasn’t in the same category, because he and his brother have been playing country music since early childhood (and his brother is a full-time musician/songwriter anyway)?
March 30, 2016 @ 9:05 am
I’m not saying any of these guys are bad. Some of Jeff Bridges stuff is fine. Billy Bob Thorton’s Boxmasters aren’t bad either. It’s just when I heard Kiefer Sutherland was making a country record, I felt like I was experiencing Deja Vu.
March 30, 2016 @ 2:06 am
It is minimalist songwriting, but it tells the story and gets the point across. There aren’t too many wasted words, and economy is a mark of good songwriting. Is it another “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”? No. But it is better than a lot of stuff considered “country” these days.
From a vocal standpoint, he’s singing with the voice he has. That’s what singers should do, be they Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard or Gram Parsons or Lucinda Williams. Heaven help us if any of those four were starting out in today’s market. They’d probably never make it.
March 30, 2016 @ 7:01 pm
Hey for the record, I’m as big a Johnny Cash fan as anyone, and I love Lucinda Williams and Merle Haggard. I don’t ned pristine vocals. (And obviously it’s a gargantuan reach to mention any of those artists here, but I take your point.) I think it was the bad vocal combined with the overly earnest portrayal, and just the fact that I can’t stop seeing a Hollywood actor.
I certainly won’t argue that it’s more country than most these days. And hey, now that someone brought up The Cowboy Way, I’m in a good mood about it, lol.
March 31, 2016 @ 8:49 am
Indeed, I do wonder if we’d think differently of the song if we’d just heard it instead of seen and heard it. The guy’s an actor, so that prior knowledge may color our perception.
That said, I think the thing that sets apart the voices of Cash, Haggard, Parsons, Williams (and others) is that they have character, while Sutherland is a character.
March 31, 2016 @ 8:54 am
That’s the reason there is a word in the English language called “typecasting.” No matter what Kiefer does, he’s always going to be Jack Bauer to some.
March 30, 2016 @ 2:17 am
He’s got a show coming up in Buffalo soon and the tickets are dirt cheap. I may go
March 30, 2016 @ 5:30 am
Listen to it without the video and you’d swear smashmouth went country haha if anyone remembers that awfulness.
March 30, 2016 @ 6:54 am
I can’t help but like this tune, honestly. The music is very good, and, while he’s not a great vocalist by any means, and I doubt he could carry a more challenging tune, his voice has some grit to it that actually works for the song (likely aided by years of heavy drinking and chain smoking. lol)
I gotta give a thumbs up to whoever produced this. It’s better than it has any right to be on paper.
March 30, 2016 @ 7:44 am
Why not, he starred in the Young Guns movies, which makes him more country than the skinny jean wearing hipsters passing for country these days.
Spent a few hours watching videos on CMT/GACTV over the weekend…..unreal
March 30, 2016 @ 8:14 am
If you like this, make sure you buy a physical copy so you support the artist…oh, wait…
March 30, 2016 @ 9:01 am
Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Jeff Bridges, Billy Bob Thornton, Kiefer Sutherland . . . throw in Johnny Depp and anybody else who can actually play, take away the fame, and I would still go to that show. Book it at a larger theater for a decent price and I’m there. 10 times better than any show featuring most of the headliners out there now.
If allowed to, any producer could fix what is wrong with this song in about three run-throughs.
I like the vibe.
March 30, 2016 @ 9:07 am
I liked it, plus it’s got some steel +1
March 30, 2016 @ 9:53 am
Sounds like a cop on RT n’ the 44s “ain’t enough whiskey” . I guess there’s not enough original ideas in the world either. RT N’ THE 44s- Ain’t Enough Whiskey: http://youtu.be/Sf5dvKasJU0
March 30, 2016 @ 10:04 am
I gotta say, I would take this over just about anything they play on the radio. If Woody Harrelson is a guest on the upcoming album or cuts a country song of his own, you know the unasked for sequel to “the Cowboy Way” is in the works!
March 30, 2016 @ 12:20 pm
I would love a sequel of “The Cowboy Way”
March 30, 2016 @ 11:07 am
The production is very good, the songwriting is okay (nothing overly memorable from the lyrics). The voice however, it’s just not my cup of tea. I like gravely sounding singers well enough–see Ryan Bingham–but vocally Keifer takes some getting used to. And that’s putting it kindly.
March 30, 2016 @ 11:46 am
It’s country so God bless him for that.
March 30, 2016 @ 12:14 pm
That moment you realize Jack Bauer is more country then half of the playlist on iHeartRadio
March 30, 2016 @ 1:50 pm
it’s funny to me that an actor has a song more country, than country radio….
March 30, 2016 @ 4:42 pm
Hmmm…kinda boring musically and just bad lyrically ..the narrative is repetitive -goes in circles . It isn’t delivered with any conviction and barely leaves that monotone-ish range…no dynamic whatsoever . It’s country in arrangement only ……t this is not a country artist’s delivery . If a Chris Stapleton sang it it would be an octave higher oozing emotion and the title would be ” AIN’T Enough Whiskey “. Pass.
March 30, 2016 @ 4:55 pm
btw….speaking of “everybody’s goin’ country ” PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t give any credibility to backward-cowboy-hatted country girl Cyndi Lauper with ANY kind of review , Trigger .Trump , Sam Hunt ,now Cyndi Lauper in the wild west ???? .
Honest to God…. I swear the end of the world is nigh .
March 30, 2016 @ 8:17 pm
I haven’t heard a lick of Cyndi Lauper’s “country” yet but I did see that at least she’s going back and covering some classic songs instead of taking the Steven Tyler approach.
March 31, 2016 @ 3:36 pm
I haven’t heard it either, but Cyndi Lauper has a lovely, powerful voice, assuming she hasn’t lost too much of it with age. I won’t discount it until I hear it.
April 13, 2016 @ 7:18 pm
I heard it. I’m obviously no expert, but I thought it sucked. She should stick to punk…they might get her cutesy voice. I guess if you like her, more power, but I loved her in the 80’s. Now, as a country singer, no.
March 30, 2016 @ 5:02 pm
This was actually cool and if you didn’t know it was jack Bauer and all the baggage that entaiks you wouldnt be able to criticize so rough. Someone posted to my favorite blog, and it really surprised me. I dig the voice and it has 5x more soul thgan Jason Bryant Georgia line or whatever that trash is called. Good for you keanu, I mean keifer.
March 30, 2016 @ 6:34 pm
This is better than everything Cole Swindell, Florida Georgia Line, Kane Brown, and Sam Hunt will ever do.
This sounds sort of like Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees singing a country song.
He gets an A for results, an A+ for effort, and an A++ for making a country song worth listening to in 2016
March 30, 2016 @ 8:00 pm
Melodically, I loved the first verse. It was really interesting, but the chorus just falls off a cliff. Really disappointing to hear a song with promise not finish. I like his voice.
March 30, 2016 @ 8:25 pm
Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Jeff Bridges, Billy Bob Thorton. Who am I missing?
https://www.discogs.com/artist/550011-Clint-Eastwood-2
March 30, 2016 @ 8:38 pm
I still think “Honkytonk Man” is one of the most underrated country music movies of all time.
March 31, 2016 @ 6:00 am
Terry Bradshaw
March 31, 2016 @ 3:07 am
To even mention Tom Waits here is an insult, Kyle. Come on…. Waits is so much more than a “throaty singer”, he has complete control of his voice. And loving Tom Waits voice does not make it easier to get Kiefer’s. This was just plain horrible, almost as bad as I think Michael Madsen would sound he ever had a go at it. Good God, please don’t let that happen….
March 31, 2016 @ 8:15 am
I’m not comparing Kiefer Sutherland to Tom Waits. I was only remarking that he has throaty voice, in this song. Who knows, maybe Keither can sing. But we can assume that from this song.
I think a lot of folks who think this is terrible should turn on commercial country radio for five minutes. It’ll make Kiefer sound like the second coming of Hank Williams.
March 31, 2016 @ 9:47 am
My first reaction to this was that it’s not horrible, but also not noteworthy. I’m a big fan of many “ragged” singers (e.g., Dylan, Lucinda, Ray Wylie, Billy Joe Shaver), but I found his voice to be rather boring. Yet, for some reason, I kept coming back to it and have listened to it a few times now. Now, I think it’s decent country music comfort food and that his voice does have “some” charm. I won’t be buying the album when it comes out, but I appreciate that he gives a shit enough about honest to goodness country music to do something like this.
April 16, 2016 @ 9:33 am
Reviews of his first show in Milwaukee are outstanding. Don’t make a decision from one song. He really can sing and since all the songs are personal he delivers them with conviction and puts on a hell of a show.
March 31, 2016 @ 11:18 pm
Listening to a few of his other songs online (pretty much all live), I actually like his voice when he’s gets to sing a rocker. I’d probably steer clear of ballads were I him.
April 1, 2016 @ 4:28 am
I love to hate new stuff. But this is the first of Triggers posted videos that I got thru in a long, long time. Honestly, I only watched the first 20 seconds, but listened to the entire song while reading the article. It ain’t nothing that ain’t been done before, but what the hell.
More Importantly, Billy Joe Shaver will be at the City Winery in NYC in June. THAT is something you should get through.
April 1, 2016 @ 2:14 pm
That. Was. Awful! I couldn’t get a minute in without my balls shooting back up into my body from the awfulness of it. God have mercy…
April 2, 2016 @ 9:42 am
Well, while I hope Kiefer doesn’t leave acting anytime soon for music or anything else. I’ve seen him perform and he’s just about as good as any of so called “country” singers today. I’ll be there to check out the album and I’ll keep watching this and any other videos he puts out.
April 12, 2016 @ 7:26 am
I really like the tune overall. The verses are very nice melodically, and the break is very nice as well. I agree with some that the chorus could have used a better treatment, but it’s still better than 80% of the so called ‘Country’ I hear today. Overall I think it’s an excellent old school Country tune. I’m sure I’ll cover it live as I’m liking it even more the more times I listen to it. Good Job!
April 19, 2016 @ 11:53 am
Saw Kiefer at the Ark in Ann Arbor. Was fantastic! his singing was good. I’d like to see him again. Well worth the price of admission. His band was great.No bad songs at all.
April 19, 2016 @ 2:36 pm
I went to the first show of his tour in Milwaukee. It was much better than I expected. The very good reviews he received were warranted. Tickets were $25 ( should’ve been 24 dollars, DAMN IT!!!!) and it was well worth it. He even stuck around after the show and gave everyone an autograph and a photo opportunity. He was very gracious and played and sang with passion. Go see him if you get the chance!!!
April 27, 2016 @ 5:02 pm
Sounds better than of the country singers now on popular chart
August 20, 2016 @ 2:59 pm
Well if do love Kieffer, but, this song is a tad to slow, think he would do better with a little more catchy beat, and toss in Lou Diamond Phillips to add to the hype. Hmmmmm now you got it right. Lou does have a great voice. As it shows up in “The king and I”.