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Few R&B artists fuse the old and the new as effectively as Syleena Johnson does. Blessed with a voice that ranges from a silky soprano to a fiery blues rasp, the 31-year-old possesses an emotive spirit that rivals soul singers twice her age. Moreover, as evidenced on this “Best of” disc, Johnson writes songs with an eye fixed firmly on ’60s and ’70s soul traditions.

This set boasts a bevy of riches. The R. Kelly-penned title track is catchy in a radio-friendly way, but it’s Johnson’s original songs that reveal an adventurous spirit. For the duration of “Everybody Wants Something,” for instance, Johnson wraps her sexy croon around a single repetitive bass groove colored by free-style saxophone playing reminiscent of Ornette Coleman. Even on more straightforward fare, such as the adult-contemporary “I’d Rather Be Wrong,” Johnson mixes vocal gymnastics with a soulful intensity that brings to mind both Tina Turner and Mariah Carey.

Some have chided Johnson for being too intense, and such past album titles as “Chapter 1: Love, Pain, and Forgiveness” have fueled complaints that she takes herself too seriously. Invariably, however, her tales of romance gone awry rise above the level of cliché. In the end, Johnson’s songs explore matters of the heart with a gritty realism that’s absent from most contemporary R&B.