The Greatest View

For the Flume and Isabella Manfredi song, see Flume (album).

"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"
Single by Silverchair
from the album Diorama
Released	28 January 2002 (2002-01-28)
Studio	Studios 301 (Sydney)
Genre	Art rock, alternative rock
Length	4:05
Label	Eleven
Songwriter(s)	Daniel Johns
Producer(s)	David Bottrill Johns
Silverchair singles chronology
"Miss You Love" (1999) "The Greatest View" (2002) "Without You" (2002)

"The Greatest View" peaked at No. 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 (ELEVENCD6)[8] "The Greatest View" "Pins in My Needles" "Too Much of Not Enough" UK CD and 7-inch single (AT0133CD; AT0133)[9][10] "The Greatest View" (radio version) – 3:41 "Asylum" – 4:30 "Pins in My Needles" – 3:07 European and Canadian CD single (7567-85313-2; CD 85313)[11][12] "The Greatest View" (radio version) – 3:40 "Asylum" – 4:28

US digital EP – 2007[13] "The Greatest View" – 4:05 "Straight Lines" (The Presets Remix) – 3:53 "We're Not Lonely... But We Miss You" – 3:34 "Barbarella" – 3:14 "If You Keep Losing Sleep" (video) – 3:22 "The Greatest View" (video—live from Carriageworks, Sydney)

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "The Greatest View" Chart (2002) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[14] 3 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[15] 4 Germany (Official German Charts)[16] 83 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 4 Scotland (OCC)[18] 92 UK Singles (OCC)[19] 85 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[20] 11 Chart (2008) Peak position US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[21] 36

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "The Greatest View" Chart (2002) Position Australia (ARIA)[22] 86 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[23] 86

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "The Greatest View"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24]	Gold	35,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "The Greatest View"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref(s).
Australia	28 January 2002	CD	Eleven Virgin	[25][26]
United States	1 July 2002	Alternative radio	Atlantic	[27]
United Kingdom	15 July 2002	7-inch vinyl CD		[28]
United States	12 August 2002	Hot adult contemporary triple A radio		[29]

References

1. ""The Greatest View" to Hit Stores Jan. 28". chairpage.com. 1 January 2002.
2. ""The Greatest View EP" Now Available on iTunes". chairpage.com. 18 December 2007.
3. ARIA Award previous winners. "Winners by Award – Artisan Awards – Best Video". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 December 2019.
4. "Entertainment Rushes Silverchair Interview". Associated Press. 1 August 2002.
5. "The Greatest View (2002) by Silverchair". IMVDb. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
6. Gilligan, Sean (10 December 2009). Silverchair - The Greatest View. Retrieved 18 April 2024 – via Vimeo.
7. "SILVERCHAIR - THE GREATEST VIEW (MUSIC VIDEO 720p - NEW UPLOAD)". YouTube. 19 April 2020.
8. The Greatest View (Australian CD single liner notes). Silverchair. Eleven: A Music Company. 2002. ELEVENCD6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. The Greatest View (UK CD single liner notes). Silverchair. Atlantic Records. 2002. AT0133CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. The Greatest View (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Silverchair. Atlantic Records. 2002. AT0133.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. The Greatest View (European CD single liner notes). Silverchair. Atlantic Records. 2002. 7567-85313-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. The Greatest View (Canadian CD single liner notes). Silverchair. Atlantic Records. 2002. CD 85313.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
13. "The Greatest View – EP". Apple Music. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
14. "Silverchair – The Greatest View". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
15. "Silverchair Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
16. "Silverchair – The Greatest View" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
17. "Silverchair – The Greatest View". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
18. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
20. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
21. "Silverchair Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
22. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2002". ARIA. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
23. "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002". Jam!. 14 January 2003. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
24. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
25. "Silverchair to Issue "The Greatest View" on January 28th". Blabbermouth. 6 January 2002.
26. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 28th January 2002" (PDF). ARIA. 28 January 2002. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
27. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1459. 28 June 2002. p. 26. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
28. "New Releases – For Week Starting 15 July 2002: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 13 July 2002. p. 23. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
29. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1465. 9 August 2002. p. 33. Retrieved 8 June 2021.

External links

• "The Greatest View" (Audio) on YouTube
• "The Greatest View" (Official music video) on YouTube
• "The Greatest View" (HD music video) on YouTube