Please critique this mix - Class of '90 (original country/rock)

Hey folks,
 
Here's a tune of mine that I hope you enjoy.  Please give it a listen and let me know what it needs to give it that final polish -- I'm kind of a noob with Sonar, so any tips are greatly appreciated.
 
http://soundcloud.com/eddie-tx/class-of-90
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 
 

Not bad Eddie, I agree with Sidroe. I think he made a valid point. I was struggling at different times to hear the drums. For a first time and being new to sonar you did well. recording is like learning how to play an instrument. the more you practice the better you get. Your off to a great start.

Here's a tip you may have heard already and it may help with your mixing. Find a song that is similar to the mix that you are trying to emulate. If it is a download or you have to record it into your computer, create a folder, name it (I named mine Mix Comparisons). Inside that folder you can create folders for all the types of music you want to compare to, Country, Jazz, Rock, Bluegrass, etc. Store your artists songs in those folders. This way you can always pull up a particular song that sounds like what your shooting for. Take a listen and compare. What do you hear in theirs that you are lacking in yours.
In the case of the drums, I always find that the kick and the snare is almost always tucked into the mix just below the vocal level (Not as loud as the vocal, just beneath). Everything else is mixed around those drum levels. No, you don't want to mix it like a hip hop song! Just get your drums a little more forward in the mix. The more power you get out of your drum tracks will translate to a stronger mix. As I said before, you are doing great! Just try to get a little more power into your drum mix. And again, you probably don't want to turn the drums up so much as turn everything else down. A good rule of thumb around this forum seems to be that the hardest kick drum hit you show on the meter would be around -12 to -15. The reason for that is on an analog desk a -12 hit would show as 0 peaking on the desk. Digital can push harder before it goes to zero. Analog desk would show peaking way before you get there on the digital meter.
Hope some of this helps you out. One more point, you might try a good brush kit on some of the early Eagles-type songs. Henley used them quite a bit.

Hi Eddie,

Really nice tune! I think Sidroe has given you some great advice that could take this to another level.

Love the steel guitar...is that you?

great song Eddie. I agree with the previous mix comments.

Hey folks, thanks a bunch for all the kind words and suggestions.  Especially to Sidroe for the good advice.
 
I've uploaded a new version with further tweaking, so you can see if I've improved things or gone off the deep end.  :-)  Seriously, any comments or suggestions are very much appreciated.
 
http://soundcloud.com/eddie-tx/class-of-90
 
Thanks again ...
 
Cheers,
Eddie