Five Classic Rock Albums for the Coronavirus Era

Keeping it classic to keep us sane.

Photo by Jim Summaria via Wikimedia Commons, adapted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The era of social distancing and #StayAtHome has changed many things, including music listening habits.

At-home usage of YouTube recently has increased 15%, and Spotify as much as 50%. According to a report from Spotify, many of these users are seeking “to manage stress” or find a comforting “escape” from lockdown life.

If that sounds like you, then give a fresh listen to these five classic rock albums — they may be old and familiar, but they resonate with a new relevance in the age of COVID-19.

Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run

Themes of escape and freedom animate this 1973 release, which seems tailor-made for vicarious listening under quarantine.

The title track opens the album with McCartney “stuck inside these four walls” in a ballad of dreamy, dreary isolation. The “if we ever get out of here” section marches with its head down, determined and resigned, and then breaks out to the main section: the rain, the sun, bells ringing, escape, freedom — the triumphant band is on the run, vowing never to be confined again.

It’s three songs in one (some call it McCartney’s Bohemian Rhapsody) representing stages that we…