Having left Jive Records, the band had gotten a recording contract with Island, aided by Robert Palmer, who confessed on a TV show to be a fan of the Comsat Angels.[2] As a thank you, he was credited as "executive producer" on the album, and also provided vocals for the song "You'll Never Know."[3]
The track "The Cutting Edge" was released as a single, with "Something's Got to Give" on the B-side.[4] The latter song was not included on the album, but later appeared as a demo track on the 2007 release To Before.[5] The original version appeared on the 2015 reissue of Chasing Shadows.
Chasing Shadows was regarded by the band as a departure from their two prior albums, Land and 7 Day Weekend, which were produced by Jive Records. During a 1997 interview, frontman Stephen Fellows agreed with a suggestion that Chasing Shadows displayed his best vocal performance, adding: "I liked Rockfield, where we recorded Chasing Shadows cos it was very informal. We played mostly live, with vocals added later. Sleep No More was done live – the feel, capturing the moment. Obviously the Jive albums weren't done like that – assembled by machines in another room while we watched television and ate fruit".[6]
Chasing Shadows was reissued by Edsel Records in November 2015 as part of a two-CD set which also included the 1990 album Fire on the Moon, which was recorded by the band using the name Dream Command.
Track listing
All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.
"The Thought That Counts" – 6:03
"The Cutting Edge" – 5:06
"Under the Influence" – 4:22
"Carried Away" – 5:05
"You'll Never Know" – 4:57
"Lost Continent" – 5:01
"Flying Dreams" – 5:45
"Pray for Rain" – 5:01
"Something's Got to Give" (2015 edition bonus track)
