Review: Eyles & Gould's AS LONG AS I HAVE MUSIC Album

As Long As I Have Music is the debut album from both Rob Eyles and Robert Gould. It is a compilation of their music including numbers from their highly acclaimed musical A Pebble for Aaron (finalist for Stiles and Drewe's Mentorship Award) and their upcoming show The Wonderful Musician, based on the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale. Although here a songwriter, Eyles also has a stream of onstage performing credits including his West End debut as Ray in Dreamboats and Petticoats; Gould, formerly a history text book writer, has previously co-written numerous musicals, notably alongside Christopher J Orton and Joe Sterling. Having worked together since 2014 and as a duo on this album, Gould has written the lyrics whilst Eyles has composed the music - except for 'Dreams' where the lyrics have been created collaboratively.

The album contains a wonderful collection of beautifully written songs. Although in the most part it is a random mixture of musical numbers from their back catalogue, the strength of the storytelling in each individual song is incredibly high. The numbers seem to be very personal and are extremely character-driven. Eyles and Gould have lined up a stellar group of vocalists for the album including Kieran Brown, Carolyn Maitland, Rob Houchen, Jordan Lee Davies plus many more.

'No More', where the album begins, is a fun feeling track with stunning harmonies which can also be found in 'Perfect Companion' by Michael Riseley and Kayleigh McKnight - a preview of a number from musical in development The Wonderful Musician. The climax of this song is quite something! Between tracks 2 and 7, the material gets a little more serious in tone but is very heart-warming and full of passion. 'Dreams' by Rob Houchen is a beautiful number and stands out massively along with Carolyn Maitland's 'Disney Style Romance' which has some lovely nods to the genre. By the time 'A Christmas Eve Song' by Jordan Lee Davies comes along, this acts as light comedic relief and is a great number.

With no weak links, this is a thoroughly enjoyable listen and a brilliantly produced album.

As Long As I Have Music by Rob Eyles and Robert Gould is now available to buy on iTunes.