"If You Really Cared" is the third single from English singer-songwriter Gabrielle's second album, '' Gabrielle'' (1996). It was written by Gabrielle, Ben Barson of the Boilerhouse Boys, Ben Wolff and Andrew Dean. "If You Really Cared" was released in September 1996 by

Go Beat Go! Discs was a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road, Shepherd's Bush, by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer at Stiff Records, and Symo ...

and

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

, and returned Gabrielle to the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 15.

Critical reception

Caitlin Moran Catherine Elizabeth Moran ( ; born 5 April 1975) is an English journalist, broadcaster, and author at ''The Times'', where she writes two columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch". Moran w ...

from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' praised the song as "an inner-London C&W smooch that builds and builds into a deliciously sparse crescendo." Another ''Melody Maker'' editor,

Simon Price Simon Price (born 25 September 1967) is a British music journalist and author. He is known for his weekly review section in ''The Independent on Sunday'' and his books ''Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers)'' and ''Curepedia: An ...

, named it one of the Singles of the Week, writing, "'If You Really Cared' is another gorgeous period piece (shades of

Lorraine Ellison Lorraine Ellison (March 17, 1931 – January 31, 1983) was an American soul singer and songwriter known for her recording of the song " Stay with Me" (sometimes known as "Stay With Me Baby") in 1966. Life and career Born Marybelle Luraine Elli ...

's "

Stay with Me Stay with Me may refer to: Film and television * ''Stay with Me'' (2004 film), an Italian film * ''Stay with Me'' (2010 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Stay with Me'' (2018 film), a South Korean romantic drama film * ''Stay with Me'' (2016 TV ser ...

" this time). I've had it on Repeat eight times in a row and I'm not bored yet. I want her to marry me." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it three out of five, adding, "Gabrielle shows her class with this timeless

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

which captures a vintage soulful sound, but remains distinctly modern."

Track listings

Charts

References

{{authority control 1996 singles 1996 songs Gabrielle (singer) songs Songs written by Gabrielle (singer) Go! Beat singles