Mark's pal Jessica Martin is no stranger to the music of Michel Legrand. In 2008, she sang his very latest songs on the West End stage every night in the world premiere of his musical Marguerite. But four decades earlier Legrand and his lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman came up with one of the great songs of the late Sixties. "Sweet Gingerbread Man" has been a bit neglected in recent years, but Mark & Jessica thought it was time to get the old recipe out and give it a re-bake. The "single" version begins with a vignette right out of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" before the horns and fender piano signal the start of the main action. But Mark & Jessica were enjoying the song so much they've also made it available in an "extra nutty recipe" whose penultimate section provides a gingery flavor to everything from 1920s ukulele novelties and 1960s protest songs via A Chorus Line, Aretha Franklin and the bossa nova. Whichever you prefer, "Sweet Gingerbread Man" is the perfect way to follow "A Marshmallow World".
"Sweet Gingerbread Man" is available in regular taste or "extra nutty" in MP3 download for instant gratification, as well as in old-fashioned CD form on the mini-album Gingerbread & Eggnog. |
