POP / The Charts

Experts have identified a new strain of chart malaise, a sick single syndrome whereby records enter the chart up high and then disappear and are never heard of again. Blame a soft market in which it's easy to make a splash but considerably harder to stick. So it's here today and, quite possibly, gone tomorrow for Bruce Springsteen (right), Blur and Tori Amos. Mariah Carey, last week's No 1, is already on the slide.

----------------------------------------------------------------- TOP 10 ALBUMS ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1 ( 1) Music Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mariah Carey 2 (-) Brutal Youth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elvis Costello 3 ( 2) Cross of Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Enigma 4 (-) Superunknown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soundgarden 5 ( 6) Elegant Slumming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M People 6 (21) The Heart of Chicago. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chicago 7 ( 3) Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We. . .The Cranberries 8 (-) Hit the Highway. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Proclaimers. 9 (-) The Downward Spiral. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nine Inch Nails 10 (-) Devil Hopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Inspiral Carpets ----------------------------------------------------------------- TOP 10 SINGLES ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1 ( 3) Doop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Doop 2 ( 1) Without You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mariah Carey 3 ( 2) The Sign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ace of Base 4 (-) Streets of Philadelphia. . . . . . . . . . . . .Bruce Springsteen 5 (-) Girls and Boys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blur 6 ( 5) Renaissance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M People 7 (-) Pretty Good Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tori Amos 8 ( 6) Return to Innocence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enigma 9 (10) Like to Move It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman 10 ( 4) Breathe Again. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Toni Braxton -----------------------------------------------------------------