My record collection
#140: Dean & Britta - L'Avventura promo CD

I can’t remember how this promo of Dean & Britta’s first album came into my possession, it may be that Dean sent it to me, that does seem most likely. But I do also have a press-release for the album from around the time it got a UK release which was six months after it was released in the US.

Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham - L'Avventura (promo, 2003)

The promo is in a card sleeve that isn’t the same as the official release, instead they have taken the pic that was used on the released front cover and cropped to Dean’s head and shoulders on one side, and Britta on the other. The text is the same on both sides, the artist (Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham), the album title, a tracklisting, the label address, logoo and URL. And while the design is identical on both sides the sleeve’s opening mean’s that Britta is on the front cover.

It all looks lovely… except for the brutal and careless “PROMOTIONAL COPY. NOT FOR SALE” in black text, across the top. It’s above Britta’s head but, since Dean is taller, it goes through his hair. Now, given the quite large amount of promo records I have actually bought over the years - and the many more I’ve seen and haven’t bought in second hand shops, and record fairs - there clearly is no point in defacing the sleeve with a message that people clearly ignore? Or at least try not to make it so intrusive.

I was going to reproduce the presser for your delectation here, but then I remembered that I already have done that on the ‘artefacts’ series, so head over there for that.

I also have a post from around the time of the US release titled About L’Avventura by Dean Wareham which reads like a (different) press release/

• Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/039
• Artist: Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham
• Title: L’Avventura
• Notes: promo
• Packaging: Card sleeve
• Format: CD
• Buy ‘L’Avventura’ on Bandcamp