"If Only I Could" is a 1989 song by American-German singer Sydney Youngblood. Released as the lead single from his album Feeling Free, the song was composed by Claus Zundel, a producer of multi-million selling projects Sacred Spirit and B-Tribe. It was released on vinyl, audio cassette and compact disc, and is now considered Youngblood's signature song, being his biggest hit and remaining popular with many of his fans. The song reached number-one in Belgium and was a top 3 hit in many countries, including UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. In the UK, it was the 11th best-selling single of 1989. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "If Only I Could" reached number 4. Outside Europe, it peaked at number 28 in New Zealand and number 122 in Australia. In the song, Youngblood evokes "the world of brotherhood and love that he would like to create 'if only he could'". This utopian humanism is "very uncommon in the songs devoted to nightclubs". "If Only I Could" uses the bassline and drumbeat from the Razehouse track "Break 4 Love".
Critical reception
editor Jose F. Promis described the song as "pure, early-'90s house" in his review of Sydney Youngblood. Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "rich-voiced crooner temporarily moves away from usual R&B arena and pumps up the bass for this tasty, deep-baked houser that splashes with a nifty Motown-flavored undercurrent and funky wah-wah guitars. The right edit could set urban and pop radio ablaze." Liverpool Echo said the song "was one of the nicest dance/pop records of recent months, bringing songs back into dance music. And - Sydney knows a good song when he hears one." Music & Media commented that "finally, Youngblood has found a song good enough to take his smooth, sweet voice to the higher reaches of the charts. The song combines a variety of styles - reggae meets hip-house with a dash of lover's rock. A sympathetic production by Claus Zundell and some supremely tasteful Spanish guitar breaks make this record a melodic delight. Starting to move rapidly up the UK chart and looking likely to repeat that success across Europe." Orla Swift from Record-Journal noted the song as "jazzy".
