Time will tell

A song written by the singer in my band.
 
https://soundcloud.com/wal-pawlik/time-will-tell
 
Feel free to critique.
 

Pogue. Hmm, I was wondering that myself. Probably overcompensated with the highs because I know that my top end hearing is down a bit. Thanks for listening.

This is spot on..... I love this slow country style.... If I could get away with it, I'd write in this style all the time. It's reminiscent of old Haggard stuff... or even the Eagles or Emmylou. The problem here in the good old US of A is that Nashville doesn't use this kind of "real country" music anymore. I keep hoping that it will come back again....and soon.
 
The song is a good solid write. Tell the writer he done good. It's a bit long but, I didn't mind....... you should shoot for 3:30 to 3:45 as an ideal length in a country song.
 
Starting it for play #2.  The vocalist has a great voice. Loved the harmony work in this..... nice work.
 
I too have some high end hearing loss, so I mix it to where I think it sounds good.... (to me) then I pull the highs down a tiny bit. That usually satisfies the other listeners.
 
I listened totally through several more times and then nit picked a few spots.
 
The mix:  You have a sparse mix in the verses.... I like that, and it builds into the choruses, also good.  I would likely have made a few level changes and brought the acoustics up a few db. That would fill out the music behind the vox a tiny bit. I would also use the piano for fills in some of the verses..... it adds interest between the phrasing pauses of the singer without making the song too busy with more instruments.
A place where you do a fill is at 1:55... fairly nice piano fill..... but immediately following....at 2:05 where the singer holds the word "more".... a tasty piano fill would top that off nicely.... that was just one really obvious place where I would have used a fill instrument..... doesn't have to be a piano..... could have been a steel or a fiddle just as easily.
 
I liked that solo using the 2 note cord inversions..... nice. The piano needs to be as crisp, clean and as loud as the guitar is, when it's playing fills and solo stuff. I would have considered using the piano as the first part of the solo.... let the fill I was speaking of lead right into it. Let the guitar pick it up halfway through and finish it... (the solo) I would also let the piano handle the fills up to the solo... the ones in the verses....  then swap to guitar to finish the solo and the balance of the fills.... let the piano and guitar fill together there at the end.
 
There's a lot to like about this....a lot.

Herb, thank you for your comments. I really appreciate your thoughts as I love your song writing and arrangement skills. I did suggest to Steve, the writer and singer, shortening the song a bit, but he wanted it long so.....
I would have loved to add a fiddle or pedal steel into the mix, but in this part of the world there sadly are none.
Thanks for taking the time.