This page states that the album is a 1968 album released 1966. While I like to think 1968 is correct if there is Rutles lore that states otherwise that's just fine. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.245.122.24 (talk • contribs)
IMO this should be a single album instead of a double one. There is nothing on CBML implying this is the Rutles version of the White Album, at least last time I watched it FreakOut (talk) 19:35, November 6, 2013 (UTC)
Triangular vs Shite vs Wheat[]
There's been a lot of issues over the last ten years or so of people fighting over if we should accept The Triangular Album or The Shite Album as the White Album's replacement in the extended lore. For a while, I had absolutely no idea where the latter name came from, and I presumed it was a fan-made title. However, after doing some research, I've discovered both come from the same source: The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch.
The Triangular Album is featured in the film and analyzed by Tom Hanks. Meanwhile, The Shite Album is mentioned by Salman Rushdie in a deleted-scenes interview. In my eyes, the fact that the later was cut from the film despite being funny enough and totally edited implies that it was because of continuity issues, with Idle intending, fully, that Triangular be the "canon" album.
My stance on extended interviews and deleted scenes is that we should borrow from them but not treat them as gospel. So, for instance, in David Bowie's extended interview he and Eric Idle joke about "Number 9." I don't think we should thus assume that Number 9 exists in the Rutlesverse, but rather that the interviews are two friends making stuff up so Eric and decide what to use later.
Now, here's another issue.
Years ago, I used to argue that Triangular came out in 1966 and not 1968. This was because of a) where it was shown in the film, and b) how young the band looks on its cover. This was then used by fans to argue that Triangular was not the White Album replacement, and was instead a separate release 2 years before Shite. Confusing I know.
Anyways, I have since changed my mind about this, and for one reason: a better copy of The Rutles 2 reveals "Banana Records" (aka Rutle Corps) at the top of the album. As The White Album was the first LP to be released under Apple, this tells us that Triangular must have come out in 1968 as well, based on the timeline. Like many documentaries, it seems The Rutles 2 just tells the story out-of-order.
However, because The Shite Album has remained such an ongoing fascination with Rutle fans, with many on this site even trying to remove Triangular and replace it with Shite, I've elected to mention it in the article as a nickname some fans use (this matches with the deleted interview, where it's stated that "Shite Album" is a name fans made up, although it still only kind of fits). The Shite Album will also redirect here.
Now, this would be the end of the conversation if it wasn't for a third White Album spoof, as Neil Innes released The Wheat Album in 2018. Just to save a big headache, I think we can all agree to treat that as a 2018 album and cover it entirely to reality, as we do for Archaeology. (although I will say, The Wheat Album is the one which feels like something that could have been in the 1978 film)
I hope this closes the debate, and now that we have a good copy of the cover photo, perhaps Rutle fans can finally use Triangular in their mock-ups and photoshops. Hope this helps! OS25🤙☎️ 15:22, October 5, 2020 (UTC)