My first cover song... A Day In The Life (v2)

Hi All,
Inspired by some very good Beatles covers I've heard here over the last year or two I finally worked up the nerve to tackle one of my favorite Beatles songs - A Day In The Life.
 
My goal was to create a version somewhere between "faithful reproduction" and "modern interpretation", so hopefully I'm somewhere near the target.       As always, any comments and suggestions are welcome!
 
https://soundcloud.com/steve-cocchi/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles-stevec-cover
 
 
Edit:
I just uploaded version two to the same location.
 
Mix changes made per previous suggestions:
- Notched out some boominess on the bass and lowered about 2dB
- Reduced the low mids on the acoustic guitar to remove some of the boxiness/room tone and slightly adjusted the highs
- Remixed the vocal "ahhs" section for better balance
 
Artistic changes:
- Added two shaker parts and really thinned out the hihats
- Replaced most of the acoustic guitar in the first three verses with my own simplified parts
- Sprinkled a bunch of vocal harmonies throughout
 
Thanks!
 

Interesting. Here are my off the cuff reactions:
 
* I'm guessing this was a ton of work to put together. I would never ever attempt it. Kudos, you should be proud of getting through it relatively unscathed! Ambitious indeed.
* I love how the drummer paid homage to what I think is the most underrated part of this song, and what was Ringo's finest hour, and that is that every single fill in the song is different. The drummer approximated them all, and that was fun to hear.
* I would do some back and forth A/B listening to the mix in the verses. Your vocals are great and all the playing is great, but the mix sounds a bit cluttered
* I was a little disappointed that it was most of the way through almost completely faithful to the original, so I found myself wondering why I was listening to it. In general, if someone's going to cover something, especially "sacred" songs like this one, I prefer them to say "hey, what about this?" rather than "here's what they said". This falls mostly into the latter camp for me. Mind you, it was quite a good rendering, but not very far afield. My favorite change from the original was the different way you did the final big chord. Nice idea to make it the whole band instead of just the piano, and to hold it instead of letting it fade. That was a cool idea.
* One bass riff got the notes wrong and that bugged me, because it sounds like a mistake rather than on purpose, and that is the descending pattern in E in the bridge (2:32 under "found my way downstairs" etc.). He plays E, D C#, C, B, and it's E, D#, C#, C, B. Subtle, but I noticed it, and it bugged me.

Dan - thanks!   I did go back and forth on those hi-hats quite a few times since the original mainly uses percussion instead (I think maracas), but in the end I chose the simpler option.  I will try some alternatives though, perhaps some mix of the two...   I'll also have another listen to the acoustic and bass. 
 
Jim - thank you for breakdown!  There was some effort involved putting it all together, but it was a labor of love.  Regarding the drums... I agree 100%!  I've always thought this was a high point for Ringo and for me a memorable part of the song, so I wanted to cop those fills (drums are a mix of two AD2 kits).  Regarding the mix during the verses, that could be the acoustic that Dan pointed out...  For the "artistic" aspect, I intentionally stuck to the verses mostly as-is because that's just the way I heard it.  Now the middle section (Paul's part plus the dreamy ahhs) along with the crescendos, they were a different story...   And I will most certainly look into that bass note!  I pretty much just played it as a standard blues bass riff.  
 
Daryl - thanks!    Yeah, for me it's always been one of those Beatles songs that just transcended its time.  And for some reason is just felt like the right song to do (probably not the last though).   While the verses wanted to be mostly "as-is", that ahhs part was just the opposite and practically screamed to be more literal in reference to the "dream" line that precedes it.  Glad you liked it!

Hey Steve, I always believe if your going to go....then go all out....who picks an iconic song like this, and then posts it on the internet?
 
You I guess. 
 
I'm only listening on computer speakers, so take my following comments with a grain of salt.
 
The vocals are buried in verb, but maybe that is how it in is on the original.  Can you sing in a lower register? Maybe use the vox you have as backing, and sing it lower, like that leonard cohen guy
 
Nice effort partner.  I'm thoroughly fired up that you did this.
 
Jesse Q. Screed
 
 
 
 

Version two uploaded to the same location.  Details are in the OP.   Thanks for the suggestions!

For a mostly faithful version, this is spot on Steve, can't hear anything out of place here. Excellent work.

Could have sworn I commented on this the other day, just my furry mind playing tricks.  This sounds better than the first mix I did listen too.  Sound OK here mix seems to translate thanks for sharing.

Very ambitious and doggone if you didn't do a terrific job on this cover.
Great stuff!!!

You left out the piano bench squeek at the end.

Dang Nabity!!
 
I've been waiting for this.  You are really on to something here.
 
Who's playing the piano?
Did you play the bass?
 
The vocal changes are good.
 
I love the earthy vibe.
 
I am hearing some timing issues.  The keys seem a little off, or the bass,
 
it gets Pink Floydish at 3:00 IMO, and that is a cool change up
 
I'm no expert, but correct those timing issues between the drums, bass, and keys, and you have a hit.  I love loose, but I think you are going to work on this some more.
 
Thanks man, that is inspiring.
 
Jesse Q. Screed
 
 

Steve,
 
I missed the 1 mix. I can picture the improvements, I can see that the shaker would help to add something to that part. Loved the string sounds (I love strings in general). Overall I find that it works really well. I have no problems with the mix or what you have done with it. Sounds ace to me. I'll give you a gold star for this one :)

Steve ,
I think I may have heard mix 1 about a week or so ago ...at the time I was lurking on the songs forum ...
Hey man WOW ,this mix is nice .
I have always held you in very high regard here on the songs forum you are a very creative player in my book .
I got to give it you , doing this song is like climbing Mt Everest  solo ...
You did  a fantastic job
all the best to you ,
Kenny
 

Thanks, Keni!   Good to know the mix is translating.   I'm not sure about Mt. Everest, but I don't think that I'd call it a nice gentle slope either.      And completely likewise regarding the props - your playing speaks for itself.  
 
Thanks again, Jesse!   I've been playing music for a long time... not as long as some folks around these parts, but probably longer than others have been alive.       But thank you.     
I suspected that if anything was going to sound just a bit off time it probably would be the piano, so thanks for confirming.  It could be the way I have the plugins set up, I'm not sure.  But I will give it another listen!
 

stevec - I would like to tell you that you did a great job on the harmonies - I think you found some paths there that were very lovely and original. I enjoyed listening to your song very much :)
LJ

Steve - this is fantastic. I did a version myself - was just guitar and drums - would have no idea how to put together something like this - sounds complicated - and I would say you nailed it.