In 1996, The Who reissued Who Are You with a different mix (and some bonus tracks). The remix added some instruments and vocals that were not present in the original and removed some others. I liked it, but those changes always seemed a little out of place. Basically, they weren't how I remembered the album. The new box set includes a nice clean remaster that sounds like the original 1978 mix to me. The '96 remix is a nice listen, but to me this is the way the album should sound.

The second disc in the set contains Glyn Johns' mix of the album (well, seven tracks worth) and a handful of outtakes.

For several songs, I don't really hear a ton of differences in Glyn's mix. However, on others the sound seems thin, which lines up with the reports that the mix was rejected for not having enough bass. They're an interesting listen, but if you're hoping to hear something radically different, you'll be disappointed.

The rest of the CD is a collection of various alternate takes. If you're curious about hearing "Had Enough" and "Love Is Coming Down" without orchestral parts, those are here. They're both good without, but I think the strings really made the arrangements. Pete's lead vocals on "New Song", "Guitar And Pen", and "Who Are You" get the point across, but it also shows how much Roger Daltrey's vocal adds to the sound. A subtle example is the sneer is Daltrey voice when he sings "and she says that she'd like it with more of a tune" in "Guitar And Pen". That little touch just makes the frustration in the lyrics crystal clear.

Sessions & Demos is a bit of an odds-and-ends CD with some alternate versions (a few were on the 1996 reissue), several of John Entwistle's demos, and a remix of the alternate version of "Who Are You" from the documentary The Kids Are Alright. I was surprised that the "Demos" portion didn't include Pete's demos, but it was cool to hear John's. Like Pete, John's demos are very finished: they feel like they could have been released as is on a solo album. The remix of "Who Are You" is cool to have, but a little disappointing because I'm so used to the mix in the film. It's a good mix, but it's not that exact version I've heard so many times.

Shepperton 1977 is the roughest part of the set, documenting the early stages of working on both the album and The Kids Are Alright. It kicks off with a bootleg-quality recording of a very early "Who Are You" from a 1976 Toronto concert. The rest of the disc has early rehearsals that sound sloppy, but fun. "The Kids Are Alright" gets a reggae feel that ends up making Roger Daltrey laugh and lose his place in the song. The two "Knocking It Into Shape" versions of "Who Are You" give you a feel for the how the song gets built up. An sloppy and incendiary version of "Barbara Ann" with Keith on lead vocals was a highlight of the The Kids Are Alright, and that song's included here. Very much it's equal is a similar take on "I Saw Her Standing There". Take 2 starts out rough but takes off flying by the end. It's got that same mix of sloppy and explosive.

Shepperton 1978/79 is another two-part disc. When The Kids Are Alright was being compiled, producer Jeff Stein realized he was missing good performance footage of several key songs. A show for 500 invited guests was held at Shepperton Studios and the band roared through a short set. "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" were used in the film, but the rest of the material is absolutely worth hearing. The band does a terrific "My Wife", then plays a powerful "My Generation" which segues into "Join Together" and a sloppy take on "Who Are You". It's loose, but amazing. The songs have a little different mix, so "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" don't sound quite like they do in the movie. If we go by the listing on setlist.fm, you'll see that the set was a little longer than what's on this CD. Would have liked to have heard the rest.

The second half of the CD has four rehearsal takes from 1979 with Kenney Jones in the drummer's seat and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick added to the lineup. The four tracks still sound a little ragged (as you'd expect) and don't really set you up for what's coming on the next CDs.

Along with Kenney Jones on drums. The Who added "Rabbit" Bundrick on keyboards and brought along a horn section for the 1979 tour. The tour shows the band in a very adventurous phase. They stretch out and perform extended arrangements of several songs, including "Music Must Change", "Drowned", a previously unreleased improv titled "Take A Fool Like You", and a long, jammy early take on "How Can You Do It Alone", which wouldn't be released for another two years. The horn section adds a new feel to their sound, and it's used very effectively. Kenney Jones took a lot of grief for his drumming in the band. It's definitely not the same as Keith's style, and can be a little "samey" at points, but overall, the show on these two CDs is spectacular. This was a suprising high point of the box.

The Blu-ray includes surround sound mixes of the album plus some stereo versions of other songs in the box. Steven Wilson's surround mix doesn't play any games with the sound, but he does add in some of the cool touches from the box like the little guitar solo in the "Lost Guitar Mix" of "Sister Disco" that's never been part of the main album before. Sounds amazing.