Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, has impacted the R&B, indie and pop scenes more than any other musical artist in recent memory. Released over the span of 10 months, his three free and marvelous mixtapes, “House of Balloons,” “Thursday” and “Echoes of Silence” have caught the attention of music critics and studios alike. The Weeknd recently signed a major label deal with Universal Republic Records to release his debut compilation, “Trilogy.” If debut compilation does not sound quite right, it is not a phrase really heard in the music business then or now. To Universal Records, however, “Trilogy” sounds like a success.

Compiling all three of The Weeknd’s previous mixtape releases plus three new tracks, “Trilogy” is composed of 90 percent formerly free material, initially released through the artist’s website, along with three new tracks — which were coincidentally uploaded to YouTube before the compilation was released. Universal likely wants to capture that residual mainstream market yet to be exposed to the leaning, crooning, smoking and sensual world of the young, private and talented Montréalais. In days past, in different genres, the signage of a major label usually meant something — a loss of values, a change in sound and identity, an increase in the size of the venues played, etc.

Tesfaye’s deal currently feeds into none of those former stigmas, and while he has emerged from a genre certainly less susceptible to scrutiny from major signing than the indie rock world, the expectation that a label deal will bring about a new or worse Weeknd is really low. His three new tracks, “Twenty Eight,” “Valerie” and “Till Dawn (Here Comes the Sun),” along with another promotional song, “Enemy,” not available on “Trilogy,” all show a familiar Weeknd. Here, Tesfaye takes a couple risks and thankfully, predictably, they work out. On these new tracks, Tesfaye is vocally at his very best, approaching Michael Jackson-level clarity and depth while steering his lyrical work in a more direct manner, setting aside much of the symbolic interplay pervasive in his three mixtapes. He’s adhering to that historically intuitive, sometimes true yet always confusing notion of “stay the same but the change.”

The bulk of the release, the three mixtapes, will certainly be new to some and of greatest interest, but to those who’ve heard it, “Trilogy” is certainly still worth consideration; the tracks are remixed and re-mastered and are available in higher-quality formats. While the formatting on the free releases was quite good and the production quality high, this sort of production-heavy music benefits from a more complete, less compressed frequency scale. To those interested in where The Weeknd might lead them next, the new tracks segue quite well into familiar territory. For those unfamiliar, these records appeared over time, and are quite heavy — lyrically, musically and in terms of production. If you attempt to digest the entire compilation in one sitting you’ll likely end up failing and will likely consider The Weeknd’s music to be quite one-dimensional. It’s advisable to take each section one at a time and start in order; the final new tracks will not upset the whole.

While The Weeknd’s music rests firmly on song craft, vocal talent and masterful production — the things that initially hook a listener — the reasons behind releasing three mixtapes in succession and one massive compilation cannot be determined with a great deal of theme in mind. It’s a trilogy, not a greatest hits, nor is it really a compilation in the normal sense. A trilogy is a story with three parts, so expect different voices and many themes where symbols exist and interconnect and circumstances play. These releases were an underground thing first and foremost, so you’ll have to do some digging. Maybe it will turn out that The Weeknd isn’t so much “The Weekend” but “The Weakened.”