Morning View | ||||
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Studio album by Incubus | ||||
Released | October 23, 2001 | |||
Recorded | April — May 2001 at the Stern House in Malibu, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 58:29 | |||
Label | Epic/Immortal | |||
Producer | ||||
Incubus chronology | ||||
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Singles from Morning View | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Blender | |
Entertainment Weekly | B |
Los Angeles Times | |
NME | 4/10 |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | |
Slant Magazine | |
USA Today | |
The Village Voice | C+ |
Morning View is the fourth studio album by American rock band Incubus, released October 23, 2001 through Epic Records. A companion DVD, The Morning View Sessions, was released on May 29, 2002. Morning View was the last Incubus album to feature bassist Alex Katunich.
With the album producing the popular singles "Wish You Were Here" and "Nice to Know You," Morning View generally achieved critical praise and went double-platinum, making it the band's highest selling album.
To record the album, the band lived in Malibu, California, near a street called "Morning View Drive". Former bassist Alex Katunich (aka "Dirk Lance") noted that the band had previously "tried to do that for at least the writing portion of Make Yourself, but we didn't have enough clout at the time. When we were getting ready to write this one, we knew that we needed to get into a more creative place. The idea was to not feel as if you were driving [somewhere] to work on a record. You could just get up and it was a natural extension of your day."
Vocalist Brandon Boyd stated that the band "needed quick access to the beach because we're kinda spoiled brats sometimes. We need that outlet. At least I do. It's nice to write music all day and be like, 'I'm going to take a break, see you guys in two hours.'"
Out of the 30 songs the band sketched out for the album, 13 ended up on the final release.
Former bassist Alex Katunich (aka "Dirk Lance") stated that the album's title comes from "the name of the street the house was on where we recorded the album." Boyd notes that "every time we'd pull into the street we had the view of the ocean and Pacific Coast Highway. I got a big creative boner every time I'd show up to the house. Every time we'd pull up, DJ Kilmore would be like, 'Ah, Morning View. It's time to rock!'"
Morning View features a variety of styles: ambience, aggression, and groove. It has an overall softer sound than previous albums, especially apparent on songs like "Echo" and "Are You In?"; however, Incubus's heavier side is still evident on tracks like "Have You Ever" and "Under My Umbrella." Regarding the album's sound, guitarist Mike Einziger notes that it: