"Decades down the road from Exile in Guyville's initial rapturous critical reception, the list of men who claim (or have been assigned) linchpin status in Phair's artistic development has only grown; the sundry oral histories of the album are packed with men, elbowing forward to claim "it was I" - who loaned her that guitar, or booked her on that bill, or noticed a potential she, naturally, wasn't even sure of herself. This box set deadens those dubious claims, underscoring what we already knew: It was all her, all along. Its gift is letting us hear a great artist become forged, and become herself, song by song".