Can't find my copy of this at the mo 23skidoo, so don't know if she was or not, but have both ripped at the same quality in MP3 (I go for192 kbps).
It would be impossible t remove the "80s" sound altogether, as they are integral parts of the songs like Running Up That Hill, and Hounds Of love, but the other tracks have benefited from having a little of this toned down, so it's just clear instrumentation.
It's very subtle, and the Engineer hasn't gone "creative", which is why I like it.
But the original does have that very slight 80s feel around it production wise (Over and above what's in the tracks themselves).
A nice compliment to each other, and I suppose it depends if you're in the mood for a little more of a nostalgia listen, or you've got yer serious audiophile hat (and face!) on.
Does it say whether Kate herself was involved in the remastering? I tend to be a bit more forgiving if the original artist makes audio changes than if a third party comes in and tinkers around. Remastering can be damaging. Lots of classic rock tracks from the 1950s from Elvis to Bill Haley have been remastered to remove things like echo and the songs often sound flat as a result.
Having just recently got the orignal CD (below), and having had this for a while now, I can compare the two.
The remastering on this is great, and the extra tracks are the real feature (Under The Ivy is worth the purchase on it's own), but I do notice the de-eighties-ify-ing effect of the remaster...
... You know what I mean by that "Eighties echo" effect music of the time had?
They've taken a fair bit of that away on this, and so given it a more "Timeless" feel (so this one also probably the Audiophile's choice), but if you want to hear the album as you orignially heard it, with the eighties feel intact, then hunt down an original CD issue.
(Still haven't gotten over how much later re-masterings have changed two great songs I like: Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street (Original Vinyl single is still the best), and Steve Winwood - Valerie (They've kicked the guts out of that song by removing the echo, and the prominent drum sound of the orignal, not to mention the entire drum intro at the start,,, seriously, get the original single and let the real feeling come flooding back!)