There are various reasons we (I work in the music industry, and have in the past been involved with remastering) remaster old recordings. There are also various reasons why some sound better than the original to some people, and some worse to some people. There will almost certainly be disagreement over which sound ’better’ depending on your tastes in music, your relationship with the music, how you listen to music, where you listen to music, and what equipment you listen on. You cannot generalise though, and you yourself have to listen to see which you prefer. In your post you mention liking the sound of Adele and John Meyer recordings: if this is the case it is likely that you will prefer the sound of a remastered older recording.
As an aside as you mention it: bass is one area that can be most improved through remastering as older recordings were mastered for LP which has a more limited bass capability than CD. Original CDs were often flat transfers of the final master, hence they could be light in bass as that master was designed for LP.
On the subject of bass in the 70s - have a listen to a bar or two of 70s dub reggae and that should dispel any concerns that they didn’t ’do’ bass in the 70s.
As an aside as you mention it: bass is one area that can be most improved through remastering as older recordings were mastered for LP which has a more limited bass capability than CD. Original CDs were often flat transfers of the final master, hence they could be light in bass as that master was designed for LP.
On the subject of bass in the 70s - have a listen to a bar or two of 70s dub reggae and that should dispel any concerns that they didn’t ’do’ bass in the 70s.