And the winner is: 1984 original U.S. CD release. All I have to say is, wow. The waveforms tell pretty much the whole story here. There has been a significant increase in volume with the remaster, on the order of 8-10 dB depending on the song, and zooming in on the waveforms reveals rampant clipping of the peaks throughout. Compression is extensive and very obvious. Despite the appearance of the waveforms, the 1984 release has overall wide dynamics with its loudest peaks in the upper limit of the compact disc's range, pretty much using the format in the way it was originally intended - though it could in truth be slightly louder in volume. Listening to volume matched samples, the treble sounds like it's been significantly boosted on the remaster, possibly in an attempt to increase apparent clarity, and this throws off the overall sound of the music. No contest here.