BOMB SQUAD: “Fast Car,” the acclaimed hit...

BOMB SQUAD: “Fast Car,” the acclaimed hit single from her debut 1988 album, put Tracy Chapman in the fast lane to stardom. But since then she’s drifted into the slow lane. Her new “Matters of the Heart” (No. 102 on the Billboard pop chart after topping out at No. 53) already seems to have run out of gas. . . . Chalk up another bomb for R&B; diva Chaka Khan, whose “The Woman I Am,” touted as her big comeback album, barely cracked the Top 100--it peaked at No. 92 and nose-dived to the bottom of the Top 200.

It turns out that title of the Boys’ new “The Saga Continues . . .” is a bit too optimistic. Despite a strong sales record with previous albums, the Motown R&B; teen vocal group isn’t even on the Billboard Top 200 with this one a month after its release. . . . They say critical praise doesn’t sell records, and Los Lobos will testify to that. Even the group’s fans appear to have ignored the rave reviews for “Kiko.” After a poor debut at No. 151, it slumped to No. 163 in the second week.