It would be interesting to know if the original Watersons recording was as bad as the remaster. If the distortion is on the original (seems unlikely to me, knowing Topic), then I don't know how it would be got rid of. If on the remaster, then some cloth-eared engineer is probably to blame.

My mate Chris has just had his own songs recorded and put on to a CD master. It was done at a local, cheap studio (£30 per hour) and, when I heard the results, I commented that the guitar lacked bass and sounded thin, and that the echo on the vocals had taken away all intimacy and presence. I got Chris to speak to the engineer - a young chap - to take off the echo and redo the guitar EQ. The result was acceptable, but I have to say I've got better results using a pair of Zoom H2s.