Morning View is the fourth studio album by the rock band Incubus, released October 22, 2001, through Epic Records. A companion DVD, The Morning View Sessions, was released on May 29, 2002. Continuing the move away from nu metal, the album ranges widely from soft to hard rock sounds in the style of alternative rock. 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. A rerecorded version of the album, titled Morning View XXIII, was released on May 10, 2024.
Morning View has been described as an alternative rock, alternative metal, hard rock and soft rock album and it features a variety of styles: ambience, aggression, and groove. It has an overall softer sound than previous albums, especially apparent on songs like “11am”, “Echo” and “Are You In?”. The album also contains an acoustic ballad similar to “Drive”, “Mexico”, complete with strings. However, Incubus‘s heavier side is still evident on tracks like “Blood on the Ground”, “Have You Ever” and “Under My Umbrella”.
Topping all previous Incubus records, Morning View debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 2 with 266,000 copies sold in its first week. By December 2001, the album was certified platinum and still ranked No. 38 on the Top 200. Many of its singles would remain on the charts throughout the following year. After heavy touring and single rotation, Morning View would be the 40th best selling album of 2002.
Tracklist:
- Nice to Know You
- Circles
- Wish You Were Here
- Just a Phase
- 11am
- Blood on the Ground
- Mexico
- Warning
- Echo
- Have You Ever
- Are You In?
- Under My Umbrella
- Aqueous Transmission
Incubus
Brandon Boyd: lead vocals, percussion
Mike Einziger: lead guitar, pipa on “Aqueous Transmission”
Chris Kilmore: turntables
Dirk Lance: bass guitar
José Pasillas: drums
Additional musicians
Strings arranged and Conducted by Suzie Katayama
Violins: Joel Derouin, Mario De Leon, Peter Kent, Gerry Hilera, David Stenske, Eve Butler
Violas: Evan Wilson, Karie Prescott
Cello: Larry Corbett, Dan Smith
Woodwinds: Jon Clarke
Assistant contractor: Marne Boomershine
Background vocals on “Are You In”: Dawn Beckham, Stephanie Alexander
Production
Produced by Scott Litt and Incubus
Recorded by Rick Will, Dave Holdredge, Mike Einziger, and Scott Litt
Mixed by Rick Will and Scott Litt
Digital recording/editing: Dave Holdredge
2nd engineer: Tom Sweeney
Mastered by Bob Ludwig