Hi Mark,
Was just listening to the MFSL of Imagine tonight when comparing the Titan i vs. the ZYX Omega Gold lo). . I don't have an original around any more to compare but I wouldn't call the MFSL Imagine dreck. It's far from dreck :) But it's a 70s rock recording and the number of bad sounding releases far outweight the good sounding releases.
Maybe there's some variation in pressing or sometimes I find that one, because these co's don't dehorn, needs to play the LP several times for it to sound its best. Then of course the VTA/SRA needs to be adjusted for these albums-esp. w/todays best cartridges that are exceedingly sensitive to variations in height.
Now, the question of original vs. reissue is a whole different bag of worms :) A zillion variables to consider. But the one thing to remember is that these record co's keep vinyl and turntable sales going and look at what the prices of original releases of these albums are goinkg for. Would you (or most) rather pay say $50 for a Bill Evans Waltz for Debby (45 rpm) or 3-500 for an original. The same goes for Deccas who now command $300 to over $1000 nowadays :( And no matter what, analog release sounds far better than digital!