"I Keep Looking For That Sunset" Can anyone identify this '70s rock song?

I think its the same recording still, They seem to be in a different tempo plus the recording quality definitely changes how it sounds

 

I’m 99% sure that’s him. The radio clip is from the end of the track!

 

No that link has the full song with guitar and backing vocals. Keep listening.

 

No, it’s not THAT Jim Dawson!! It’s this guy:
www.jimdawson.com - biography

 

Yeah I listened to the end and it’s definitely the same recording. As @pokemaniacjunk said, the clarity of the above version makes it sound a bit different, but how the backing vocals sound, and how he sings that last line, make it clear that it’s the same recording.

 

The band Ambrosia straddled the worlds of prog and soft rock for a time. Maybe it's them.

 

Absolutely the first thing I thought of when I heard the clip.

 

I feel vindicated that at least I got the genre right -- He's from Missouri so it is Midwestern. Now to weather all of the posts from the people who are skeptic and want the game to keep going. I'm just happy I'm not going to dream that song all night again trying to work out what it is.

 

Jim Dawson songs youtube - Google Search

 

From the LP Elephants in the rain----1975

1975
RCA APL1-0993
Recorded at the Hit Factory, NYC
Produced by Terry Cashman and Tommy West

 

Love this little bit, from his bio...

>> In 1988, a German soap opera wanted Jim to write and record the opening theme song for the show. A CD, "Secrets of the Heart", followed. There are great songs on this CD although the German techno/disco production on some tracks doesn’t seem to fit the feeling of the Dawson songs. But the money from the German recording allowed Jim to set up his own recording studio in his NYC apartment. Now he could record his songs the way he wanted and take control of his music.

 

Exactly. Great LP!!

Jim Dawson (2) - Elephants In The Rain

 

Also it looks like this wasn’t released as a single (at least according to Discogs), so my guess is this is what that station played on the radio at the time: Jim Dawson (2) - Jim Dawson...

 

Ha, great job @SteelyNJ

Hope to hear a response (or laugh) from Jim Dawson for the amount of obscure traffic he's getting right now.

 

It’s honestly a very effective blend, IMO, of the folk rock/heartland and ‘70s AM/soft rock genres. For that reason, it makes me surprised that this song didn’t catch on a bit wider at the time.

 

in a way i'm kind of bummed it was already discovered, the game was fun

 

I feel that way about Dawson’s body of work in general, and particularly about his output throughout the 1970s. Uber talented but he never had that one breakthrough hit.

 

Congratualtions! You truly win the internet this year. Everybody listen:

 

Gotta admit, now that I can clearly hear the lyrics - I got the song stuck in my head.

 

Also it looks like he’s been performing live at least as late as 2017. There’s a full concert that opens with a gorgeous solo piano rendition of this track:

 

For me the heartland/countrypolitan genre is probably the most hit or miss genre -- there are great gems out there like this one but gawd nose I have to wade through a lot of big boogers to get to them. But now that I have gotten a chance to hear the entire song, I can see why it didn't have a chance of crossing over. This would have fit most comfortably on AM country radio but not FM, and as I remember it FM had taken over by that time. Even though it's forward looking by mixing the genres it may have been behind the curve because of that.

 

See, this song doesn’t really sound like pure country to me at all, although I can definitely hear some influence of it in there. But also 1975, the year that this came out, would seem to be (on paper) the perfect year for a song like this to be released. “Cats in the Cradle” was released the previous October; Linda Ronstadt was beginning her peak period at the start of the year; The Eagles had multiple number ones; “Black Water,” “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” and “Rhinestone Cowboy” also hit number one (with John Denver and Glen Campbell being big chart presences at this time, as well); and “Sister Golden Hair,” which to me the guitar playing in this song seems to be inspired by, also topped the charts that year. So it seemed like a perfect climate for a song like this, but most likely inadequate promotion or just over saturation of this particular sound in the market did it in.

 

That's easy! Look at the two labels he recorded for. Kama Sutra and RCA had trouble breaking a glass during this period. If it wasn't Bowie or the occasional Guess Who song it wasn't happening. Kama Sutra was well past their expiration date.

 

On a side-note, now that I can hear the lyrics clearly, they really do fit these times; it’s a near-perfect commentary on the Hell of a year we’ve all had in 2020 and the optimism that comes with ringing in a new one.

 

It doesn't sound like the Cocaine Rogaine Oh My Dog We're So Rich And Decadent crowd. As you can see I'm really fond of that lot and I wouldn't throw water on them if they were on fire. Well, maybe I would if they'd melt like Margaret Hamilton. The Eagles, Doobies, Linda Rondstadt ... aaargh!! Just let the aneurysms burst so I can be done with them, there's seven to choose from, they could go any second and they could also take 30 years. Linda gets some validation for getting out of that and doing the Nelson Riddle thing and it's sad she can't sing anymore, but I wouldn't care if everyone she was associated with in that genre just dropped off the face of the earth, and I got that way through it being crammed down my throat as The Only Good Music That Exists. Lee Abrams is Radio Satan.

I do like Freddy Fender (that's a Mexican cultural thing -- it is a requirement if you're a music fan my age to like Freddy Fender, Ritchie Valens, Chris Montez, Question Mark & The Mysterians and Johnny Rodriguez regardless of your focus). John Denver is cool because I was there with him politically. Glen Campbell was cool for being a really well-kept secret on what an ace musician he was, like Roy Clark.

None of these came to mind. The records that did come to mind were:

Ray Stevens "You've Got The Music Inside" (flip of "The Streak", and proof that he was an ace musician, this one especially)
Anne Murray "I Still Wish the Very Best For You" (flip of "You Needed Me")
John Denver "Calypso"
Gallagher & Lyle in general, but discounted for being Scottish
Billy Swan
Billy Crash Craddock
The Statler Brothers first greatest hits album, the one with their wives on the cover.
Tom Jones "Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow" (for feel)
Engelbert Humperdinck "After the Lovin" (also for feel)
and Dolly Parton after she crossed over, especially "Here You Come Again"

So I started chasing that one ... the lyrics are just banal enough to fit happily in that genre.