EC & The Return of Rhino Handmade

[cwr]

I got an e-mail today announcing "The Return Of Rhino Handmade."

I was always surprised that Costello didn't take advantage of this series when Rhino was putting out his reissues, but I wonder if there is still any chance that he could use them to put out The Wendy James Demos at some point. (Would Warner still own the rights to those? It would seem like the perfect "limited edition" item for Costello to put out...)

Or what else, I wonder, would be a candidate for this series, Costello-wise? I wonder if EC would ever consider releasing, for instance, the NORTH demos, which has spoken of as particularly intense...

[Neil.]

What exactly is 'Rhino Handmade', as compared to plain 'Rhino'?

[cwr]

Rhino Handmade basically puts out one-time-only editions in limited numbers. For instance, they put out a reissue of T Bone Burnett's Proof Through The Night/Trap Door that was limited to 5000 copies and sold out almost immediately. And once they're gone, they're gone.

Seems like an idea like that would appeal to EC, and it would be the ideal way to release something that there is a limited but not huge demand for. A complete edition of The Wendy James Demos would sell out 5000 copies pretty quickly, and it would be a fun release as opposed to something that would be held up to the usual scrutiny...

[chickendinna]

I was lucky enough to get a copy of the T-Bone Proof Through The Night. When Rhino Hand Made says limited, they mean limited. They don't come cheap either. I don't think there's anyone on this site who would not want to see Elvis release either the Wendy James demos or something of that sort. But somehow I don't think it's going to happen. I wish he would go the route of the Allman Brothers Band and release either live shows or whatever through his website.

[cwr]

The only reason I could imagine a Rhino Handmade type thing for EC is the EC/Warner connection. He was happy with the Rhino editions, and that would be the one way that any WB-era stuff like the WJ demos could be released, right?

QUESTION: does his 1989-1996 material ever revert back to him the way his Columbia-era stuff did? And same question with the UMG years?