Mar 02 2025 70 mins 2
Sophie Payten, aka Gordi, joins Al from Melbourne, Australia to discuss the phenomenon that is Carole King’s 1971 album Tapestry. Sophie talks about how this album has been an important part of her life since childhood, and how it has influenced her songwriting. She breaks down nearly all of Tapestry's tracks, focusing on how King's vocals, piano playing and songwriting helped to create a pop masterpiece. Sophie also explains why she decided to pursue both a medical career and a musical career, and how the former informed her songwriting when she was creating her new album Like Plasticine (out May 30).
You can follow Sophie on Instagram at @gordimusic and stream her music on YouTube at @gordimusic_psa. Check out gordimusic.com, where you can buy Sophie’s music and Gordi merch. As Sophie mentioned on the show, this is also where you can go to sign up for her newsletter.
Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior.bsky.social. This show has an account on Instagram at @youmealbum. Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter! https://youmealbum.substack.com/. You can also support the show on Buzzsprout at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1542814/episodes or at the link at the bottom of these show notes.
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1:19 Sophie joins the show
2:35 Sophie talks about why she decided to pursue a career in medicine
5:12 Sophie identifies the event that put her on the trajectory towards a music career
8:17 Sophie explains why Tapestry has been an important album throughout her life
12:00 Sophie notes what made an impression on her during latest listening of Tapestry
14:19 Sophie marvels at Carole King’s powerful vocals
18:00 Sophie and Al talk about how the studio musicians who played on Tapestry complemented King’s performance
20:50 Sophie remembers learning to play “You’ve Got a Friend” on piano
24:09 Al is more familiar with other artists’ interpretations of some of the songs from Tapestry
26:11 Sophie talks about a few artists she explored after getting into Tapestry
31:19 Sophie explains how King has influenced her own songwriting
35:20 Sophie and Al talk about the uplifting nature of King’s melodies
37:35 Sophie and Al explore “Beautiful” and “Smackwater Jack” as outliers on the album
42:17 Sophie and Al discuss King’s discography aside from Tapestry
46:05 Sophie talks about how the album opens and closes with its most powerful tracks
50:47 Sophie and Al note the consistency of the album’s tracks
52:44 Al was surprised by the outro of “So Far Away”
54:54 Sophie talks about her lengthy songwriting process for “Peripheral Lover”
1:01:03 Sophie recounts how her collaboration with Anaïs Mitchell on “PVC Divide” came about
1:04:55 Sophie talks about her upcoming album release and touring plans
Outro music is from “Broke Scene” by Gordi.
