Chapman's greatest concern during her meetings with Kershenbaum was that the integrity of her songs remain intact, because she wanted to record "real simple". Kershenbaum said, "I wanted to make sure that she was in front, vocally and thematically, and that everything was built around her." Every song that was featured on the result of the studio album was featured on her demo tape, except for "Fast Car", which resulted as one of the last songs recorded on the album. Kershenbaum recalled that the first time she sang and performed it for him, he "loved it the minute I heard it."