Smooth female vocal + synth bass + clunky e-piano: works for me

I wasn't sure whether or not to post this in the Songs forum, as this is less about the song (which I didn't write) and more about the arrangement.  Anyway, this is my version of a song based around a supplied vocal stem:
https://soundcloud.com/kevs-music/namastessong
[Updated link to new mix 17May2014]
 
My contribution
I take no credit for the song itself, although I did make a few amendments to the existing chord structure. All of the instrumental parts were my creations though and were not in the original version of the song. The orchestral interlude is entirely mine too.
 
Varying tempo
The vocal was apparently not recorded to a click track, but to an acoustic guitar, so consequently the tempo fluctuates considerably. I resisted the temptation to make it constant tempo throughout but compromised and made a few amendments so that it does not vary as wildly. Maybe I should have done a better job though. My driving drum pattern makes some of the residual tempo fluctuations a bit too obvious to the listener.
 
Choice of instruments
It's such a fine vocal performance that I wanted to keep the vocal part prominent and not have it competing too much with the instruments. I found a suitable bass sound, 80s-style synth bass, that keeps away from the vocal frequencies without hiding in the background. But I also wanted to avoid everything becoming too smooth. I avoided the obvious DX electric piano which would have been to cheesy an opted for a clunky Wurly instead. The contrasting textures seem to work ok.
 
Arrangement
I stuck with the original vocal stem, but inserted an instrumental section after the second chorus. For contrast between different sections, I used a choir pad on each chorus, a hammond organ (NI B4II) on the first half of each verse and nothing for the second half of the verse. Paradoxically, the "nothing" (i.e. nothing accompanying the vocals other than drums, bass and e-piano) seems to have the most impact. The choir pad ducks the vocals (I think I used Sonitus Gate for that but I can't recall). The third chorus has lots of bits of percussion, noises and hits. The fourth chorus has sequenced synths.
 
Orchestra
The melody for the orchestral interlude suggested itself after listening to the song a thousand times and it was in my head everywhere I went. I also wrote a similar introduction leading up to the first verse but didn't use it in the end.  I used 10 instances of Miroslav Philharmonik altogether.
 
Comments welcome, especially negative ones.

The Band19
...She's a little too wet in the mix (IMO) I would have made the orchestra a little wetter in places...

I think agree, certainly about the orchestra anyway.  I'll go back and try again. 
 

Thanks for the pointers. I'm working on it right now.
 

The wet vocal originally belonged to another project and to an earlier, more acoustic, version of the song. Altering it would be feasible, except that a pad that I have used in the choruses has been set up to "duck" the vocal, so I would need to re-do the pad too. I can't remember exactly what I did or how I did it, as it was 4 years ago. Maybe I'll leave the vocal as it is for now and focus on the other issues.

The Band19
I'm digging the organ?...

I used 2 instances of NI B4II with almost the same settings and mostly playing in unison but with the rotators out of sync with each other.

Hi Kev, for me the song is about the vocal and I felt the instrumentation was almost too loud to the point of distraction, the vocal needed to be louder and more up front, I felt like I was being forced to listen to the instruments and I couldn't concentrate on the singer. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with the instrumentation in and of itself, just the balance was wrong.

OK, I've addressed all the issues brought up in this thread.  Many thanks to Band19, olemon, teego and rebel007 for pointing them out.  Here's the latest mix:
https://soundcloud.com/kevs-music/namastessong15

The Band19
...(the high instrument in my right ear) right @ 2:40, not sure if it's a flute or a woodwind, but it could come down a smidge...

Oboes.  OK, I'll reduce it a bit.  

Further adjustments made. New version here:
https://soundcloud.com/kevs-music/namastessong16

I hope I haven't messed anything up.

teego
...The volume  jumps up when she starts singing and it startles you a little...

I'd increased the level on the first syllable of the vocal because I thought it lacked impact. Maybe I shouldn't have done this.
 
By the way, in the latest mix I made the vocal track mono in the final choruses where the mix is much busier than the early choruses and was getting lost. It seems to make a difference.

For the last few days I was having problems with the project, apparently due to accidentally pressing some shortcut key resulting in some bizarre behaviour which was inexplicable for a while but was easily sorted out in the end (details in this thread if anyone is interested).

So here's the latest mix:
https://soundcloud.com/kevs-music/namastessong
The vocals are slightly more prominent again and this seems to work ok. I'm wondering if the pad used in the choruses is now too intrusive in some places though.