The Greatest View Explained

The Greatest View
Cover:GreatestView.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Silverchair
Album:Diorama
Studio:Studios 301 (Sydney)
Genre:Art rock, alternative rock
Length:4:05
Label:Eleven
Prev Title:Miss You Love
Prev Year:1999
Next Title:Without You
Next Year:2002

"The Greatest View" is a song by Australian rock band Silverchair, released on 28 January 2002 as the first single from their fourth studio album, Diorama.[1] This is one of three songs which made it onto the album (the other two being "World Upon Your Shoulders" and "Too Much of Not Enough") which Daniel Johns recorded using his Rickenbacker 12 string.

"The Greatest View" peaked at 3 in Australia and at No. 4 in Canada and New Zealand. In 2008, it reached No. 36 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart due to an EP being released by Warner Bros. Records.[2] The Square-Eyed Films directed music video was nominated for Best Video at the ARIA Music Awards of 2002.[3]

Origin

In an interview with the Associated Press in 2002, Daniel Johns said about the song:

"The Greatest View" is a song that really focuses on people's perceptions of the same problem or the same scenario. Basically what was going on in my mind was that I had a lot of people who were watching over me and watching my every move making sure that I didn't fall back in to the heap that I fell in to whilst writing Neon Ballroom. Because I was aware of that I felt like I had the greatest view from where I was from because I could see what was going on. I was aware of the situation, I was in control of my own destiny really."[4]

Music video

A video was made in which the band plays in hotel room representing Daniel Johns' inner space which spies try to investigate and listen in on. At the end of the video, the whole hotel lifts up into the air playing on the words 'greatest view'. The music video was directed by Sean Gilligan and Sarah-Jane Woulahan from the Brisbane-based video team Squareyed Films.[1] [5]

Director Sean Gilligan uploaded a high-definition version of the music video to his Vimeo page in 2009.[6] He also uploaded a version to his YouTube channel in 2020, but it was subsequently removed for copyright violation by SME.[7]

Track listings

Australian CD single [8]

  1. "The Greatest View"
  2. "Pins in My Needles"
  3. "Too Much of Not Enough"

UK CD and 7-inch single [9] [10]

  1. "The Greatest View" (radio version) – 3:41
  2. "Asylum" – 4:30
  3. "Pins in My Needles" – 3:07

European and Canadian CD single [11] [12]

  1. "The Greatest View" (radio version) – 3:40
  2. "Asylum" – 4:28

US digital EP – 2007[13]

  1. "The Greatest View" – 4:05
  2. "Straight Lines" (The Presets Remix) – 3:53
  3. "We're Not Lonely... But We Miss You" – 3:34
  4. "Barbarella" – 3:14
  5. "If You Keep Losing Sleep" (video) – 3:22
  6. "The Greatest View" (video—live from Carriageworks, Sydney)

Charts

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "The Greatest View"!Chart (2002)!Position
Australia (ARIA)[15] 86
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[16] 86

Release history

Region!scope="col"
DateFormat(s)Label(s)
Australia28 January 2002CD[17] [18]
United States1 July 2002Alternative radioAtlantic[19]
United Kingdom15 July 2002[20]
United States12 August 2002[21]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1 January 2002 . "The Greatest View" to Hit Stores Jan. 28 . chairpage.com.
  2. Web site: 18 December 2007 . "The Greatest View EP" Now Available on iTunes . chairpage.com.
  3. ARIA Award previous winners. Web site: Winners by Award – Artisan Awards – Best Video . Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 12 December 2019 .
  4. Web site: 1 August 2002 . Entertainment Rushes Silverchair Interview . Associated Press.
  5. Web site: The Greatest View (2002) by Silverchair . IMVDb . 4 October 2020.
  6. Silverchair - The Greatest View . 2009-12-10 . Gilligan . Sean . 2024-04-18 . Vimeo.
  7. Web site: 19 April 2020 . SILVERCHAIR - THE GREATEST VIEW (MUSIC VIDEO 720p - NEW UPLOAD) . YouTube.
  8. The Greatest View. Silverchair. 2002. Australian CD single liner notes. . ELEVENCD6.
  9. The Greatest View. Silverchair. 2002. UK CD single liner notes. Atlantic Records. AT0133CD.
  10. The Greatest View. Silverchair. 2002. UK 7-inch single sleeve. Atlantic Records. AT0133.
  11. The Greatest View. Silverchair. 2002. European CD single liner notes. Atlantic Records. 7567-85313-2.
  12. The Greatest View. Silverchair. 2002. Canadian CD single liner notes. Atlantic Records. CD 85313.
  13. Web site: The Greatest View – EP. Apple Music. 8 January 2022.
  14. Silverchair Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs). Billboard. 2 August 2020.
  15. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2002. ARIA. 2 August 2020.
  16. Web site: Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002. Jam!. 14 January 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20040906184715/http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/2002_singles.html. 6 September 2004. 22 March 2022.
  17. Web site: Silverchair to Issue "The Greatest View" on January 28th. Blabbermouth. 6 January 2002.
  18. Web site: The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 28th January 2002. ARIA. 24. 28 January 2002. dead. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20020220130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20020221-0000/www.aria.com.au/Issue622.pdf. 20 February 2002. 8 June 2021.
  19. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1459. 26. 28 June 2002. 8 June 2021.
  20. New Releases – For Week Starting 15 July 2002: Singles. Music Week. 23. 13 July 2002. 26 August 2021.
  21. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1465. 33. 9 August 2002. 8 June 2021.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Greatest View".

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