The band released their second studio album on February 24, 2009 entitled Masterpiece Theatre.
It takes some real cojones to include the word 'Masterpiece' in your album title, but Josh Ramsay isn't too worried. "I suppose I could be digging myself into a hole calling the record Masterpiece Theatre," he chuckles, "but it's tongue-in-cheek. And I'm not the kind of person that people would assume as being an egomaniac. I hope not, anyway."
Given his feverish imagination and comprehensive musical gifts, Ramsay could probably get away with a little egomania. And with the release of Masterpiece Theatre, the frontman of Vancouver's Marianas Trench makes a iron-clad case for a prodigious set of talents - both his own and those of his bandmates, guitarist Matt Webb, bassist Mike Ayley, and drummer Ian Casselman.
Marianas Trench had already elevated itself above the rest of the pack with a 2006 debut, Fix Me, that showcased a knack for colouring outside the lines of factory-issue millenial punk, shrewdly-built pop, and super-adrenalized modern rock. The single and in particular the video "Shake Tramp" was enough to demonstrate these qualities, coupled with Ramsay's uninhibited urge to be the complete song-and-dance man.
But with both the industry and the fans beating down the door for a quick second album, the Trench decided to put on the brakes. "All of a sudden you have six months to do your next record," Ramsay sighs. "So I really had to just put my foot down and say, 'No, I need the time to do this.' I was not interested in putting something out for the sake of putting something out."
Two years later, Marianas Trench has re-emerged with Masterpiece Theatre. And not surprisingly, it's a work of soaring ambition and decisive technical prowess – that easily might not have happened. "It's one thing when you're Chad Kroeger and you just finished writing 'How You Remind Me'," Ramsay states. "I didn't have some mega-platinum song to back up my argument with, so I was lucky that the band and the label trusted me enough to do it."
By "it", Ramsay means he was allowed to indulge a high-concept fantasy for the band's sophomore album, which is built, for starters, around a song called "Masterpiece Theatre". Adopting Brian Wilson's notion of the 'pocket symphony' and then running with it, the three distinct versions of “Masterpiece Theatre” dotted across the record feature an almost perfect balance between the vocal theatrics of Queen and the more hymnal qualities of the Beach Boys.
By the time “Masterpiece Theatre” is reprised for a final, climactic time, every other song on the album is quoted and incorporated into an intricately constructed dramatic revue that swings from pristine pop, to propulsive riff rock, to quasi-doo wop, to robotic new wave, and finally into a wholly satisfying thematic payoff.
"You know in the climax of a musical, there's always that medley at the end, and I thought that would be cool on a rock record," explains Ramsay, "but it turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. I wrote it in the studio as we recorded it, and it took about three weeks."
After a beat, he adds, "But really it took me two years because it draws from all the songs on the whole album."
Bassist Mike Ayley readily admits, "I don't think any of the three ‘Masterpiece Theatre’ songs could have gone on Fix Me had they been written at the time. ‘Masterpiece’ 2 and 3 in particular are amazing songs that really explore the potential of Josh's writing. You really have to hear them to get it. It's like trying to explain ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to somebody who has only heard Kanye West and Katy Perry."
Ramsay agrees. "I really wanted to have a 'Good Vibrations'/'Bohemian Rhapsody’ style song on the first record,” he says, “but I don't think I was a mature enough writer to have written it yet, and I still feel like I was in over-my-head when we did this one, and I just barely made it."
Ramsay is unnecessarily modest; the whole of Masterpiece Theatre demonstrates a startling compositional maturity compared to the Marianas Trench of two years ago.
"Beside You" is a panoramic exercise in big emotions, with a dash of the Dream Academy's "Life In a Northern Town”. "Acadia" begins with a clipped, bright acoustic guitar, and blossoms into something like the Who reconsidered by U2, reimagined for the net generation. In the crunchy "All to Myself", the power ballad "Lover Dearest", and the strident "Good to You" (in which he duets with Kate Voegele), Ramsay pulls out the kind of honeyed vocals more attuned to modern RnB than white, adolescent rock.
"I always had that aspect in my voice but the first record just didn't have songs that were conducive to me singing that way," he states. "I think it's from growing up listening to a lot of Michael Jackson. With these songs, it made sense to stretch out a little more."
On "Cross My Heart" and "Celebrity Status", the band conjures up a kind of perfect pop crossover. Producer Dave 'Rave' Ogilvie was responsible for the latter track, which cops a move he used on Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People" with three drummers (Casselman, Ramsay and Shane Wilson) playing at once - much to Ramsay's delight. "He's just worked with so many great artists which makes his well of tricks and ideas so vast," he says.
True to Ramsay's quest for "more diversity on this album" - not to mention the indulgence of his record label - Rave was just one of four prominent guest producers eventually roped into Masterpiece Theatre. Their collective resume includes Nine Inch Nails, Sum 41, Iggy Pop, Avril Lavigne, and Hedley among others.
"I feel really fortunate to have worked with all those guys," Ramsay says, "coz they all bring really unique things. Dave Genn and I have a really good working relationship with each other, and he has such a unique style with arrangement and stuff. Greig Nori was a really pleasant surprise. As far as I can tell, he wanted to work with us because he liked our video. The whole time he was just trying to get me to dance around like an idiot. And Raine Maida, man? Raine's a trip!"
Bassist Ayley also credits Maida for encouraging the band to “find a personality-identity that wasn't as evident when we started the production process," while also praising Ramsay for his production efforts. Ramsay took charge of four songs on the finished record. “Josh is really about capturing the emotion and power which isn't surprising considering all the feeling in the writing,” he says.
Oddly enough, Ramsay also wanted Disney's in-house genius Alan (Little Mermaid) Mencken to twiddle the knobs for the climactic version of "Masterpiece Theatre", but admits, "it's a pretty tall order to get an Academy Award winner to come and work on your record."
Still, the album is certainly not diminished by the few things Ramsay didn't get. And once the world gets a load of this Masterpiece, Mencken, Pharrell Williams, Phil Spector... you name it. They'll probably be lining up.
Forget Me Not
Marianas Trench Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And played some of his songs
You don’t know how the words go
But you sort of sang along
And I’m here to remind you
What’s lost is never gone
You will
Forget, forget, forget
You will
Forget, forget, forget
Forget me not, forget me not
I’m not ready for what’s to come
Does that make me
My mother’s selfish son
But I wanted you to know
I still need you my friend
From the line to amend
To the cradle again
I’ll be your
I’ll be your
I’ll be your
Forget, forget me not
I’ll be your
I’ll be your
Forget me not
If memories are shadows
We’d best not waste the light
Echos of aphasia
Have haunted you tonight
But I will watch you sleeping
And make sure you’re alright
And you will
Forget, forget, forget
Forget me not
You will
Forget, forget, forget
Forget me not, forget me not
I’m not ready for what’s to come
Does that make me
My mother’s selfish son
But I wanted you to know
I will help you my friend
From the line to amend
To the cradle again
I’ll be your
I’ll be your
I’ll be your
Forget, forget me not
I’ll be your
I’ll be your
Forget me not
I know you’re not quite here
But you’re not quite gone
Sometimes the night gets dark before the dawn
Maybe life’s too short
But the end is long
Yeah, life’s too short
But the end is long
Life’s too short
But the end is long
Yeah, life’s too short
But the end is so long
I won’t leave you my friend
I will ease you back in
To the cradle again
I’ll be your
I’ll be your
I’ll be your
Forget, forget me not
I’ll be your
I’ll be your
Life’s too short
But the end is long
Life’s too short
But the end is so long
The lyrics of Marianas Trench's song "Forget Me Not" speaks of the undying bond between two friends, one of whom has aphasia, a condition that affects a person's ability to communicate. The song starts with the singer reminiscing about the times they've spent with their friend, sat down at a piano, watching their friend trying to sing along to the songs even though they don't exactly know the words. It's clear that although their friend's memory and communication may be impaired, their unbreakable friendship remains.
The verse "If memories are shadows, we’d best not waste the light," suggests that the singer wants to cherish each moment they have left with their friend, ensuring they know they're not alone. Despite the singer's apprehension about what the future holds, they vow to always be there for their friend. They explicitly say "I’ll be your forget-me-not", meaning they'll be the one person their friend never forgets. The song ends with a hopeful message, "I won’t leave you my friend, I will ease you back in to the cradle again."
Overall, "Forget Me Not" encapsulates the different ways we support those we love through tough times, even when the person affected may not remember. It also emphasizes the importance of making meaningful connections, living every moment to its fullest, and remembering that nothing is lost forever.
Line by Line Meaning
Sat down at the piano
The singer sat down at the piano to play some of his friend's songs.
And played some of his songs
The singer played his friend's songs on the piano.
You don’t know how the words go
The listener does not know the lyrics of the songs.
But you sort of sang along
The listener sang along even though they didn't know the lyrics.
And I’m here to remind you
The artist is here to remind the listener.
What’s lost is never gone
The things that are lost are still remembered.
You will
This is a repeating chorus that urges the listener to remember.
Forget, forget, forget
The listener may forget, but the artist does not want them to.
Forget me not
The artist does not want the listener to forget him.
I’m not ready for what’s to come
The artist is not ready for what is going to happen.
Does that make me
The singer questions if this makes them something negative.
My mother’s selfish son
The artist thinks of themselves as their mother's selfish child.
But I wanted you to know
The singer wants the listener to know something.
I still need you my friend
The singer still needs their friend.
From the line to amend
The singer wants to fix something that has gone wrong.
To the cradle again
The artist wants to take the listener back to a time when things were better.
I’ll be your
This line begins a repeating chorus where the artist assures their friend that they will always be there.
If memories are shadows
Memories can be fleeting and fleeting like shadows.
We’d best not waste the light
It's important to use the time you have to make the most of what you have.
Echos of aphasia
There are sounds and reverberations from what has been forgotten.
Have haunted you tonight
They come back to haunt at night.
But I will watch you sleeping
The artist will keep a watchful eye on their friend while they sleep.
And make sure you’re alright
The singer wants to make sure their friend is okay.
I know you’re not quite here
The artist acknowledges that their friend is not fully present.
But you’re not quite gone
Their friend is still there but may be slipping away.
Sometimes the night gets dark before the dawn
Things can be worse before they get better.
Maybe life’s too short
Life is short.
But the end is long
The end, or the struggle before the end, is long.
I won’t leave you my friend
The artist will not leave their friend.
I will ease you back in
The singer will help their friend through a tough time.
Life’s too short
Life is short.
But the end is so long
The end, or the struggle before the end, is long.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@raythornton275
The fact that this is about his mom tears me up.
@greenbean2222
Really?!
@mattullrich
@@greenbean2222 his mom had Alzheimer’s or something similar. And then in 2020 she died of covid
@suetaylor9799
God Blessings to Josh and to anyone dealing....with whatever...just dealing...My sweet mom has dementia and every single word in this glorious ballad cuts deep as I'm sure it does to many...Josh sings it so painfully beautiful...It gets me every single time....Therapy....If I need to get it out this is my go to song right now...Therapy....Absolutely lovely....
@ninebreaker6438
Big fan of MT. Just lost my father to cancer on april 15th at 66. He still had so much life to live...this song hits way harder now...
@binklebonkle5767
I'm not ashamed to say it. I am crying my eyes out.
@AdelieCreations
I've been listening to Marianas Trench music because Josh recently helped out a choir I'm a part of. I just heard this song for the first time. Beautiful and heartbreaking. 💔 RIP Corlynn Hanney, and deepest condolences to Josh and his family.
@mirandamayo2987
I get chills every time.
@Saturndazed74
This reminds me of my grandfather before he passed away, and I play it when I think of him for his memory, as much as it can be painful to listen.But this song sums up the last of his life, and I am glad I got to visit him and be with him when I did. I just wish I had more time. I am sorry josh had to go through with this with his mom. It’s not ever easy for anyone. This is such a beautiful ballad. Big hugs to josh and those who have family members that have to go through such terrible diseases.
@jharris7
We always wish we'd had more time. Always. Sending love your way!