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.
Masterpiece Theatre
Marianas Trench Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Clever words and phrases only stain
I remain so lost and buried under everything I need
When all I want it you
I've been here so very long
And every word is calculated
Never questioned or debated
I could wreck it I had to
But I'm the wreck so what would that do?
My masterpiece will fall apart
It was over before the start
If I burn out and slip away
If this is just a part I portray
If this is just a part I portray
You're beautiful, can I hide in you awhile?
If this is just a part I portray
If this is just a part I portray
They keep mostly to themselves
Don't make a sound incase they hear you
It only hurts me to be near you
Keep those tired eyes closed
Careful, follow my instruction
And I will show you self-destruction
This masterpiece is only mine
Entirely guilty by design
If I burn out and slip away
If this is just a part I portray
If this is just a part I portray
You're beautiful, can I hide in you awhile?
If this is just a part I portray
Can I hide in you awhile?
I just can't let it, let it out
I just can't let it out
I just can't let it, let it out
I just can't let it out
I just can't let it, let it out
I just can't let it out
I just can't let it, let it out
I just can't let it out
If this is just a part I portray
You're beautiful, can I hide in you a while?
You're beautiful
If this is just a part I portray
If this is just a part I portray
I don't know how it got this way
The song "Masterpiece Theatre I" by Marianas Trench speaks about the internal struggle of a person who is hiding a part of themselves that they don't want others to see. The opening lines "First it comes on quiet, creeping slow, clever words and phrases only stain" imply the gradual nature of the person's repression. They mask their true emotions with calculated words and poses, but they feel buried under the weight of what they need. The person suggests that they could destroy their façade, but ultimately decides not to, as revealing their true self will cause their masterpiece to crumble.
The second verse continues to build on the idea of the person's calculated façade. They mention how they've been hiding their true self for so long that it's become second-nature. The person also implies that they are willingly leading someone else down a path of destruction by instructing them to follow their lead. The final lines of the song leave the person questioning how they ended up in such a state, showing how they are caught between the need for self-expression and the desire to keep their "masterpiece" intact.
Overall, "Masterpiece Theatre I" suggests that people can become trapped in their own creation of self-protection as they bury themselves in layers of personas that hide their true selves. The song portrays the challenge of being vulnerable and choosing to allow others to see the "un-perfect" parts of life.
Line by Line Meaning
First it comes on quiet, creeping slow
At first, it's subtle and slow to reveal itself
Clever words and phrases only stain
Empty words and insincere expressions only make things worse
I remain so lost and buried under everything I need
I'm buried under everything I feel like I need, confused and unable to see clearly
When all I want it you
All I really want is you
I've been here so very long
I've been stuck in this place for a long time
And every word is calculated
Everything I say is carefully planned and calculated
Never questioned or debated
No one has ever challenged or questioned me
All these practiced poses
I've perfected these fake personas and expressions
I could wreck it I had to
I could destroy this facade if I really wanted to
But I'm the wreck so what would that do?
But I'm already a mess, so what would that accomplish?
My masterpiece will fall apart
My carefully crafted image will crumble
It was over before the start
It was doomed to fail from the beginning
They keep mostly to themselves
They keep to themselves and avoid being noticed
Don't make a sound incase they hear you
Be quiet, so they won't notice us
It only hurts me to be near you
Being near you only hurts me more
Keep those tired eyes closed
Don't look, it's better not to see
Careful, follow my instruction
Be careful and do what I say
And I will show you self-destruction
I'll lead you down the path of self-destruction
This masterpiece is only mine
This fake image is something I created and only mine to bear
Entirely guilty by design
I'm fully responsible for my own deception
I just can't let it, let it out
I can't let my true self be seen/disclosed
If this is just a part I portray
If this is just a false image/role I'm playing
You're beautiful, can I hide in you awhile?
I'm drawn to you, can I find solace in you for a while?
I don't know how it got this way
I don't know how I ended up like this
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Illuminati Confirmed
My Favourite To least favourite ( they are all incredible tho ) :
1) Master Piece Theatre 3
2) Master Piece Theatre 1
3) Beside You
4) Master Piece Theatre 2
5) Acadia
6) Good to You
7) Cross My Heart
8) Celebrity Status
9) Lover Dearest
10) Perfect
11) All to Myself
12) Sing Sing
Jaimeson Jacobs
1. Masterpiece theatre 3
2. Cross my heart
3. Masterpiece theatre 1
4. Perfect
5. Acadia
6. All to myself
7. Masterpiece Theatre 2
8. Celebrity status
9. Sing sing
10. Beside you
11. Good to you
12. Lover dearest
Teresia Lashley
This is the only way to listen this man. Listen to the entire album.
CATDUDE MINECRAFT
@robyn kennedy you are right
robyn kennedy
you guys are obviously children who didnt get to actually appreciate marianas trench.
NICKY8RICE
Ember Rain listen to it from last track to the first
NICKY8RICE
Ember Rain yes
Ember Rain
@NICKY8RICE like...last to first or
sith ekil?
rich m
they could sing the friggin abc's and it would rock. they're just that good.
Gingerstorm101
liz ann I think I heard an interview about that 😂
liz ann
@Gingerstorm101 yes, but it was taken off of their tour bc too many people booed it
Gingerstorm101
Didn’t Matt do this at one point?