Ticket 2 Ride

The Who has been prolific at releasing older product containing demos and live tracks. New material doesn’t sell, older souped-up packages will.

In 2025, the band released a new set featuring the album Who Are You, which was originally released in 1978. This new set contains a “new remaster of the finished original.” Of course, the set is available in several formats depending on your listening pleasure and bank account balance.

I listened to the two-disc Deluxe Edition or “poor man’s edition” as I call it, with includes a remaster of the original album on disc one, and a second disc of alternate versions of the original album tracks along with a couple of unreleased demos and several live tracks.

The Deluxe Edition

Disc one – the 2025 remaster

Did this disc need another remaster, the last one was 1996, and it sounded pretty good. The answer is yes, if you are going to the trouble of creating an anniversary boxed set, and the last remaster was nearly 30 years. Is this new remaster better than the 1996 polish? Hard to say. I hear some compression, some of the top is not as crisp as before, there’s a bit more separation and the bottom is stronger. Opinions differ. I do hear an improvement in some songs, other sound muffled.

01 New Song
02 Had Enough
03 905
04 Sister Disco
05 Music Must Change
06 Trick of the Light
07 Guitar And Pen
08 Love Is Coming Down
09 Who Are You

Who Are You is remembered as The Who’s last album with the original quartet. Keith Moon would soon die, forever fracturing the band’s sound and unity. Moon was already testing the band’s patience, it wasn’t so much his substance abuse issues, which were immense, rather his struggles with Pete Townshend’s musical complexity. His new songs reveal a sophistication and intricacy foreshadowing future projects. John Entwistle, who normally contributed one song to a new album, showed up with half a dozen, got three on this album, and all decent ones. I always felt that this album really showed off Roger Daltey’s vocal dexterity, his performance nearly as good as the masterpiece Who’s Next.

In 1978, the punk scene was raging, and they were calling out the dinosaurs of rock, the mainstream, corporate sounding artists. While this album rocks, it’s highly polished and designed to sell records, not topple Western Civilization like they once were.

Disc two – bonus tracks pulled from material offered in the Super Deluxe Edition

Who Are You (Glyn Johns Mix) (Previously Unreleased – The infamous Glyn Johns mix, that almost got him punched out by Daltrey. Glyn seems to have had his mixes remixed, happened with Let it Be too.

New Song (Pete’s Guide Vocal) Previously Unreleased – The instrumentation sounds similar to the final released version. Pete is singing the guide vocal for Daltrey. It’s a great song, made better by Daltrey’s vocal.

Had Enough (Without Orchestra) Previously Unreleased – Entwistle’s song is a good one, the song does not suffer without the orchestral backing.

Empty Glass (Session Outtake)  – A song that would appear on Pete’s upcoming solo album. Previously available on a past remaster set of Who Are You.

Love Is Coming Down (Early Run Through) – An underrated song. This version was also available on the 1996 remaster of Who Are You. The acoustic instruments are front and center, great version.

Trick Of the Light (Unused Olympic Edit) Previously Unreleased – Very similar to the released version, although this sounds more raw in the mix.i prefer this version.

Guitar And Pen (Pete’s Guide Vocal) Previously Unreleased – Pete’s version and vocal. A rougher musical version.

905 (John Entwistle Demo) Previously Unreleased – Entwistle singing. More synthy than the released version.

Good Time Coming (John Entwistle Demo) Previously Unreleased  – This song sounds nothing like anything else on the album. It’s a fresh and surprising tune. It has energy and a rawness that The Who sure could have used.

Sister Disco (Tour Rehearsals, Shepperton 1979) (Previously Unreleased) – A rougher version, with Kenny Jones on drums.

Music Must Change (Tour Rehearsals, Shepperton 1979) Previously Unreleased  – Maybe the best song on this disc, it really rocks and has a groove that is fresh and takes the song in a great direction.

Who Are You (Tour Rehearsals, Shepperton 1979 Previously Unreleased – A sloppy version, sounds good to me.

---

The Super Deluxe Edition is also available.

Disk one, same as in other editions.

01 New Song
02 Had Enough
03 905
04 Sister Disco
05 Music Must Change
06 Trick of the Light
07 Guitar And Pen
08 Love Is Coming Down
09 Who Are You

Disk two

01 New Song (Glyn Johns Mix)
02 Had Enough (Glyn Johns Mix)
03 905 (Glyn Johns Mix)
04 Sister Disco (Glyn Johns Mix)
05 Trick of the Light (Glyn Johns Mix)
06 Guitar and Pen (Glyn Johns Mix)
07 Who Are You (Glyn Johns Mix)
08 Trick of the Light (Single Edit / Glyn Johns Mix)
09 Guitar and Pen (Glyn Johns Alternative Mix)
10 Who Are You (Glyn Johns Single Edit)
11 New Song (Pete Vocal Version)
12 Sister Disco (Lost Guitar Mix)
13 Had Enough (No Orchestra)
14 Guitar and Pen (Pete Townshend Guide Vocal)
15 Love Is Coming Down (No Orchestra)
16 Who Are You (Early Run Through / Pete Townshend Vocal)

Disk three

01 Who Are You (Lost Verse Mix)
02 Guitar and Pen (Olympic ’78 Mix)
03 Love Is Coming Down (Work-in-Progress Mix)
04 Empty Glass (Group Version)
05 No Road Romance (1996 Who Are You Version)
06 Trick of the Light (Unused Olympic Edit)
07 Who Are You (Clean Radio Edit)
08 905 (John Entwistle Demo)
09 Had Enough (John Entwistle Demo)
10 Back on the Road (John Entwistle Demo)
11 Wild Horses (John Entwistle Demo)
12 Trick of the Light (John Entwistle Demo)
13 Good Time Coming (John Entwistle Demo)
14 Who Are You (John & Cyrano Mix)

Disk four

01 Who Are You (Live With Keith in 1976 / Toronto Bootleg)
02 The Kids Are Alright (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
03 Run Run Run (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
04 Spoonful / Smokestack Lightning (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
05 I Saw Her Standing There (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
06 Jam (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
07 Knocking It Into Shape 1 (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
08 Knocking It Into Shape 2 (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
09 Baba O’Riley (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
10 Shaking All Over (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
11 Bell Boy (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
12 Won’t Get Fooled Again (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
13 Barbara Ann (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
14 I Saw Her Standing There 2 (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
15 Drowned (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)

Disk five

01 Baba O’Riley (Shepperton for Kids Are Alright)
02 My Wife (Shepperton for Kids Are Alright)
03 My Generation (Shepperton for Kids Are Alright)
04 Join Together (Shepperton for Kids Are Alright)
05 Who Are You (Shepperton for Kids Are Alright)
06 Won’t Get Fooled Again (Shepperton for Kids Are Alright)
07 Sister Disco (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
08 Music Must Change (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
09 Won’t Get Fooled Again (Long Version / Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)
10 Who Are You (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)

Disk six

01 Substitute (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
02 I Can’t Explain (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
03 Baba O’Riley (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
04 The Punk and the Godfather (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
05 Boris the Spider (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
06 Sister Disco (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
07 Behind Blue Eyes (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
08 Music Must Change (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
09 Drowned (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
10 Who Are You (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
11 5.15 (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
12 Pinball Wizard (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
13 See Me, Feel Me (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)

Disc seven

01 Long Live Rock (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
02 My Generation (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
03 I Can See for Miles (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
04 Trick of the Light (Live at the Spectrum Philadelphia, USA / 10th December 1979)
05 Sparks (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
06 Won’t Get Fooled Again (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
07 Jam /Take a Fool Like You (Live at the Spectrum Philadelphia, USA / 10th December 1979)
08 How Can You Do It Alone (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
09 Magic Bus (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
10 Summertime Blues (Live at the Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA / 7th December 1979)
11 Dancing in the Street / Dancing Away (Live at the Spectrum Philadelphia, USA / 10th December 1979)
12 Real Me (Live at the Spectrum Philadelphia, USA / 10th December 1979)