Disable Gapless Playback l! Please !!!!

I have been fighting this problem ever since Big Sur came out and replaced iTunes with Music. It never bothered me since I always turned off gapless playback but that is no longer an Option. I have a large music collection and it is 90 percent MP3 files which I do not wish to convert. I can't believe no one else is complaining of the problem.

Music repeatedly checks for gapless playback on a large number of MP3 files which is not too bad if you have a small library however once it starts it keeps increasing the number of files it checks over and over.

Yes you can stop it every time you open Music but that is a real pain. Otherwise the Music app works perfectly with all of my MP3 files. I have tried Apple Support and they have no solution except do not use MP3 files. Turning off Crossfade, Sound Check and Sound Enhancer has been repeatedly suggested here but that has nothing to do with it.

I have recreated my library twice but that does not help either. Otherwise I like the Music App and want to continue to use it. Seems there is a simple answer. Give me the option of TURNING IT OFF !!