''Masterpiece Theatre'' is the second studio album by Canadian rock group

Marianas Trench The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum known ...

. It was released on February 24, 2009, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and September 28, 2010, in the United States. The album was available for preview at MuchMusic's website before the release. The last song on the album, titled "Masterpiece Theatre III", is a collage of all the songs on the album including its five singles. The album is a slight departure from Fix Me, containing more theatrical elements and instruments while still retaining the punk rock influence of its predecessor. The songs "Masterpiece Theatre" (I, II, and III), "Beside You", and "Good To You" show some experimentation using pianos, strings, and harmonies. The album sold 5,000 copies in its first week of release debuting at No. 4 on the Canadian Albums Chart and since then it has reached Double Platinum status in Canada with sales of over 80,000 copies nationwide.

Reception

Critical reception

Masterpiece Theatre was received well by most critics. The ''

Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue ...

'' praised lead singer Josh Ramsay and the lyrics saying "Singer Josh Ramsay pushed himself vocally on this album, and the lyrics were very heartfelt and meaningful – not your typical pop-punk music." ''

Melodic.net ''Melodic'' is an international daily Internet publication devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on independent music. However, the range of musical genres covered extends to rock, pop, folk, ...

'' said, "this album is one of the best, if not the best, discs I've heard in the past year or two." They also said "The harmonies, arrangements, and different styles experimented with throughout the spread of the CD are absolutely awe-inspiring." ''Lost In the Sound'' gave the album a score of 80% out 100, saying that the album "is one of the best in its genre and proves that there is still good pop rock music out there."

Commercial performance

The album sold over 160,000 copies in Canada and was certified Double Platinum by Music Canada. Singles such as "All To Myself" and "Cross My Heart" peaked in the top 15 of the Canadian Hot 100. Other singles such as "Celebrity Status", "Good to You" and " Beside You" peaked in the top 40 of the Canadian Hot 100.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''Masterpiece Theatre'' adapted from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Musicians

;Marianas Trench * Josh Ramsay – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, keyboards, programming, drums, flugelhorn,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, bass

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, guitar engineering, composer * Matt Webb – lead guitar, piano, keyboards, programming,

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* Mike Ayley – bass guitar, trumpet, vocals * Ian Casselman – drums,

sousaphone The sousaphone ( ) is a brass instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was designed to be easier to play than ...

, percussion, vocals ;Guest musicians *

Kate Voegele Kate Elizabeth Voegele (; born December 8, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She made her musical debut in 2003, with the release of her ''The Other Side'' extended play. She performed numerous local live shows to promote the a ...

– vocals * Jessica Lee – vocals * Steve Marshall – vocals * Sara Ramsay – vocals * Corlynn Ramsay - vocals * Miles Ramsay – vocals, string arrangements * Gillian Mott -violin * Joshua Belvedere –

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

* Doug Gorkoff – cello * Elyse Jacobson – violin * Rick Killburn –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

* Shane Wilson – drums * John Stamos – guest appearance * Shawn Smith – composer

Production

Dave Genn David Robert Madison Genn is a Canadian musician, producer, and songwriter. He is a member of the rock group 54-40, and a former member of the Matthew Good Band. Early life Genn was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on 2 March 1969. He is the ...

– production, engineering *

Raine Maida Raine Maida (born Michael Anthony Maida; February 18, 1970)
– Ourladypeace.cc. Retrieved April 30, 2010. is a C ...

– production, engineering *

Greig Nori Greig Andrew Nori (born November 21, 1962) is a producer and musician from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and is well known as the frontman, co-lead vocalist and guitarist of the pop punk band Treble Charger. In the late 1990s, he began working as a ...

– production, engineering *

Dave Ogilvie Dave "Rave" Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer, mixer, songwriter and musician. The former member of bands Skinny Puppy and Jakalope started his recording career in Vancouver working as an engineer at Mushroom Studios. He has been described by ...

– production, mixing *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography T ...

– mastering * Mike Fraser – mixing * Scott Ternan – bass engineering, drum engineering, guitar engineering, piano engineering, string engineering * Dean Maher – drum engineering, piano engineering * Mark Maryanovich – cover art, photography * Natalie Simon – stylist * Jonathan Simkin – A&R * Zack Blacktone – assistant * Brendon Brown – assistant * Mike Cashin – assistant * Andrew Conroy - assistant * Brock MacFarlane – assistant * Eric Mosher – assistant * Jeremy Patch – assistant * Dusty Schaller – assistant * Rob Stefanson – assistant

Charts and certifications

Album charts

Certifications

Awards and nominations

, - , 2009 , , " Cross My Heart" , , MuchMusic Video Awards Favourite Canadian Video, , , - , 2009 , , "Cross My Heart" , , MuchMusic Video Awards MUCH LOUD Rock Video of the Year, , , - , 2009 , , "Cross My Heart" , , MuchMusic Video Awards UR Fave Video, , , - , 2009 , , "Cross My Heart" , , MuchMusic Video Awards Director of the Year, , , - , 2009 , , ''Masterpiece Theatre'' , ,

Western Canadian Music Awards The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) are an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from B ...

Pop Recording of the Year, , , - , 2010 , , "Cross My Heart" , , Independent Music Awards Astral Media Radio Favourite Single, , , - , 2010 , , "Cross My Heart" , , Independent Music Awards Favourite Video, , , - , 2010 , , Marianas Trench , , Independent Music Awards Favourite Pop Artist/Group, , , - , 2010 , , Marianas Trench , ,

Canadian Radio Music Award The Canadian Radio Music Awards were an annual series of awards presented by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters that was part of Canadian Music Week Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten ...

Fan's Choice Award, , , - , 2010 , , "

Celebrity Status "Celebrity Status" is a song recorded by Canadian pop rock band Marianas Trench. It was released for radio airplay on February 12, 2010 as the fourth single from their second studio album ''Masterpiece Theatre''. The song was released digitally on ...

" , , MuchMusic Video Awards UR Fave Video, , , - , 2010 , , "Celebrity Status" , , MuchMusic Video Awards Pop Video of the Year, , , -

Release history

Singles

Cross My Heart

"Cross My Heart" is the fourth single released by Marianas Trench and the first single released off of their second album ''Masterpiece Theatre''.

Music video

Shot in

Vancouver, Canada Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, the music video starts off with Josh Ramsay singing to a woman that he is following throughout the course of the video. While going down the street, people start to hear the song, and follow along. From painters and construction workers, to teenagers from the streets, they all form a parade with the rest of the band playing on a float. In the end, the woman being followed takes out her headphones, and hears Josh singing to her. She turns around and sees the crowd cheering and applauding to her. She invites him in, the song ends and the crowd stops cheering.

Notes

* Was the "''Best Comeback''" on the January 31 issue on the Canadian Hot 100. * Was the "''Sales Gainer''" on the February 14 issue on the Canadian Hot 100. * Was certified 2× Platinum in Canada with 80,000 digital downloads across the country

Chart positions

"Cross My Heart" debuted at No. 54 on the Canadian Hot 100 and then rose No. 41 the next week, but then fell off the chart two weeks later. On the issue of January 31 it made a re-entry on the chart at No. 42 and was the "''Best Comeback''" and climbed to No. 16, and was the "''Sales Gainer''" on the issue of February 14, since then it has peaked at #15.

All to Myself

"All to Myself" is the fifth single released by Marianas Trench and the second single released off of their second album ''Masterpiece Theatre''.

Chart positions

It was the Greatest Gainer for the week of June 13, 2009 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Beside You

" Beside You" is the third single (second in the United States) of the Marianas Trench's second album, ''Masterpiece Theatre''. It was released in September 2009 in Canada, and March 2011 in the U.S. The band went on tour with Carly Rae Jepsen, The New Cities, and The Mission District to promote the song.

Music video

The music video for "Beside You" was shot on September 29, 2009. The beginning shots of the beach and dock were filmed at

Jericho Beach Jericho Beach, known originally as ''iy'a'l'mexw'' in Squamish, a Vancouver beach, is located west of the seaside neighbourhood of Kitsilano. It is surrounded by Jericho Beach Park, a grassy area with a pond, which is a picnic destination. Je ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia. The rest of the video was shot inside of the

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is situated within the natural landscape of the campus and is surrounded by evergreens and rhododendro ...

at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

. The orchestra and band members in the video are students from

Lord Byng Secondary School Lord Byng Secondary School is a public secondary school located in the West Point Grey neighbourhood on the west side of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The school opened in 1925 and was named in honour of The Lord Byng of Vimy, a hero of Vi ...

. "Beside You" premiered on Much Music's Much on Demand on October 30, 2009.

Charts

Celebrity Status

"Celebrity Status" is the fourth single off Marianas Trench's second studio album, ''Masterpiece Theatre''. It was released to radio stations in February 2010, and was released digitally onto iTunes on April 6, 2010. The song was featured along with

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

's "

Raise Your Glass "Raise Your Glass" is a song by American singer Pink (singer), Pink from her first greatest hits album, greatest hits compilation ''Greatest Hits... So Far!!! (Pink album), Greatest Hits... So Far!!!'' (2010). The song was written by Pink, Max Ma ...

" in the

's lipdub video released on April 8, 2011.

Charts

Good To You

"Good To You" is the fifth and final single off Marianas Trench's second studio album, ''Masterpiece Theatre''. It was released on August 10, 2010, to both iTunes and the radio.

Charts

References

External links

* * http://www.marianastrench.net/news/beside-you-tour-poster {{DEFAULTSORT:Masterpiece Theatre (Marianas Trench Album) 2009 albums Marianas Trench (band) albums 604 Records albums Concept albums Rock operas Albums recorded at Armoury Studios Albums recorded at Hipposonic Studios