Mastering for vinyl is very different than any other medium. You need to reduce bass for one so that the needle stays in the groove. The digital version is likely to be the most faithful representation of the tapes, assuming high quality AD was used, which I'm certain it was.
The CD version sounds good on headphones and OK through my small speakers. But the vinyl sound was arresting - maybe a smaller stereo image or something else with the mastering.
I'd like to A/B the vinyl vs. CD versions through the same speakers to hear how they compare.