MISSING IN ACTION: Tracy Chapman rode to...

\o7 London\f7 — MISSING IN ACTION: Tracy Chapman rode to the top with “Fast Car,” a Top 10 hit that earned her three 1988 Grammys, including best female pop vocal and best new artist. But she’s been in the slow lane in recent years. While her first album sold more than 3 million copies, her 1989 follow-up, “Crossroads,” sold just a million, and her last album, 1992’s “Matters of the Heart,” didn’t even sell 500,000 and never cracked the Billboard Top 40.

After a three-year absence, Chapman is preparing to return to music. Next month she’ll start a tour of small clubs to refine new songs for an album.

Meanwhile, she’s made some changes, personally and professionally. She’s moved from Boston to the San Francisco area and has switched management from Elliot Roberts (who represents Neil Young and Mazzy Star) to Gold Mountain (whose clients include Bonnie Raitt, Rickie Lee Jones and Sonic Youth).