[gmku]

As a case in point for the deep-clean method though: Against my own better judgment, last summer I bought a copy of Axis:Bold as Love at an antique shop. I know better. These places usually don't sell real clean copies. But I couldn't resist. It was an 1st pressing on the tri-colored Reprise label, considered kind of rare, and the cover was in good shape. Sure enough, it sounded like a bowl of rice krispies when I first played it at home. So I used the deep-clean method. About 50 percent of the noise was gone! So I went back to the sink with the record again and cleaned it again. This time even more noise was gone. I cleaned and played another two times, and with each cleaning the sound improved dramatically. There are still a few pops here and there, but it is now what I think most collectors would call a VG+, maybe even EX, copy. Not bad for what I paid for it. And very playable.