Though not their biggest hit in terms of sales or charts, “Clocks” is certainly one of Coldplay‘s most iconic songs. This is in part due to to the insistent piano riff, which made the song stand out among the other big hits of 2003. But also: it has been sampled bunch of times since, including by many hip hop and R&B artists.
Scary Pockets are known for their funk covers of big songs, featuring a guest vocalist. Though some of their covers of more funky songs are somewhat straight-forward, they often play around with the songs, sometimes dropping the most famous part. And, well, when it comes to “Clocks,” there is nothing more famous than the piano riff.
So, of course, Scary Pockets’ cover of “Clocks” drops the main piano riff. That could be dangerous in some hands, but this is their niche. Guest vocalist Lizzy Cameron sings the melody pretty much as it is, with a little more soul than Chris Martin but roughly the same tempo. It’s Scary Pockets who take the song to another dimension.
As I said, the piano is entirely gone, instead there is a deep groove, courtesy of stand-up bass and drums, plus a keyboard synth and scratchy guitar. In the chorus, the keyboard runs through the chords of the infamous riff, but with fewer notes, so it sounds extremely different. Nearly three minutes in, there is a suitably gritty guitar solo coupled with the synth phasing in and out to wrap up the song.
It’s a fun cover that manages to succeed without referencing the original’s most famous component. Check it out below:
