However, for the preservationist audiophile, the argument is this: The official digital streaming versions of Mary Star of The Sea (on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) all utilize the sub-standard 2003 compressed master. The LURW-FLAC rip is the only widely available version that represents the intended dynamic range of the recording before it was brick-walled for radio.
To the uninitiated, "LURW" looks like random noise. To those in the private torrent and P2P lossless communities of the mid-2000s (What.CD, Oink, Redacted), LURW was a legendary release group. Known for extreme meticulousness, LURW specialized in creating flawless, bit-perfect rips of CDs with specific pressings. ZWAN - Mary Star of The Sea -LURW-FLAC-
Before understanding the "LURW-FLAC" obsession, one must understand the source material. Mary Star of The Sea is an anomaly. It is a 75-minute epic featuring the cyclone of drumming from Jimmy Chamberlin, the layered guitar architecture of Corgan, and some of the most ambitious compositions of his career (including the 14-minute title track). However, for the preservationist audiophile, the argument is
FLAC is the gold standard for music preservation. Unlike MP3s, which use "lossy" compression to strip away audio data the human ear supposedly cannot hear, FLAC compresses audio without losing a single bit of information. To those in the private torrent and P2P
: Includes early versions or snippets of "My Life and Times," "Rivers We Can't Cross," "Love Lies in Ruin," and "Spilled Milk".