Fiona shows many sides on 'Bridge'

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There's something borrowed, something B-side and lots new in this week's new releases stack.

A COMPLICATED WOMAN: Melanie Fiona may be eccentric. Or maybe she's madly in love. Either way, her debut CD, "The Bridge" (Universal Motown, A), is an impressive mix of tracks that presents the many sides of the woman.

"The Bridge" finds the 26-year-old newcomer leaving her lover behind on the impeccable "Monday Morning," and demanding her partner treat her the right way between the sheets on the groovy first single, "Give It to Me Right."

Though eight of the 12 tracks use samples - the Zombies, Martha & the Vandellas, the Rhine Oaks, Johnnie Taylor, Janet Kay and the Softones - she holds her own on the songs that don't use samples.

Fiona, like newcomer Anjulie, has provided one of the best debut albums this year. The two are also Canadian-raised, Guyanese-bred singers. Must be something in the water.

CROSSING SWORDS: Most of the songs on Morrissey's B-sides collection, "Swords" (Umi Imports, B) aren't new, but the set is a varied trove of material recorded since 2004 that wasn't included on the former Smiths frontman's most recent three solo albums.

There's a lot of piano and torch here, and plenty of the 18 tracks follow classic Moz formulas, putting wistful lyrics against melodic optimism. But the songs also show the artist's continued creative stretch, from the staggered orchestral layers of "The Never-Played Symphonies" to the ambient "Sweetie-Pie," on which Morrissey's normally careening vocals are more a cantor's eulogy. From the range of production styles to the bonus disc of live tracks, "Swords" is a welcome catalog addition.

FLYING SOLO: Strokes front man Julian Casablancas steps out with his debut solo album, "Phrazes for the Young" (RCA, B), and dynamically weaves '80s techno-pop with psychedelic punk, while also reinventing his usual monochromatic croon. The first single, "11th Dimension," has an old-school dance vibe, complete with electro pulses and enough vocal irony to maintain the cool factor, while "4 Chords of the Apocalypse" is a bluesy number that explodes into a woeful wail. The bleak drums on "Ludlow St." segue into jangly guitars as Casablancas boozily mourns New York's gentrified Lower East Side, proving that he can still orchestrate his own musical hangover.

With all of his recent tweeting and tabloid coverage, it's a wonder John Mayer had time to write new music - much less the best and most adventurous of his four studio albums. Three years after his double-platinum album "Continuum," the new release "Battle Studies" (Sony, A) finds Mayer musing about "finding ways to keep the good alive" in romance. He also marches into fresh stylistic terrain by sampling an anthemic U2 ambience on "Heartbreak Warfare," weaving Beatles-esque textures into "All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye" and creating smooth Southern California pop melodies on "Half of My Heart" (featuring Taylor Swift). Mayer also puts a funky, sinewy spin on Cream's arrangement of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads."

HELLO, DOLLY: Dolly Parton's first career-spanning boxed set, "Dolly" (Sony Legacy, A+), captures the highlights of Parton's improbable American journey, with a focus on her early recordings with Porter Wagoner and solo '70s hits like "Coat of Many Colors" and "Jolene." This four-disc set follows Parton through the '80s, when she strayed from her strengths on crossover hits like "Islands in the Stream," then returned to her roots on the Ricky Skaggs-produced "White Limozeen."

Unfortunately, the set's last songs are from the early '90s. Since then, Parton has gone full circle yet again, recording three critically acclaimed bluegrass albums, then abandoning that aesthetic on the appropriately named "Backwoods Barbie." Perhaps that's a story for another set. Meanwhile, newcomers and fans alike will find this one remarkably satisfying.

BACK BAY: Train front man Pat Monahan isn't kidding when he promises toward the end of his band's fifth album, "Save Me, San Francisco" (Sony, B), that "brick by brick, we'll get back to yesterday."

Train's 15-year anniversary puts the group on the nostalgia track, from shrinking its lineup to the three founders - Monahan, guitarist Jimmy Stafford and drummer Scott Underwood - to a title track that celebrates the band's formative days. On "I Got You," Train nods to Bay Area forebears the Doobie Brothers by using the lyrics and melody from the group's "Black Water." Train travels in a fresh direction too, but the trio mostly stays on a familiar track with the lushly crafted melody of string-laden songs like "Parachute," "This Ain't Goodbye" (co-written with Ryan Tedder) and "Words."