So, part of this is channeling David Lindley    The steel part comes in at around 45 seconds and then stays in for the remainder of the tune... actually kind of driving it. It was my first take and played all the way thru without edit. Not perfect but it works for the tune.  I spent a ton of time on this mix and took a week break after the final mix before returning to master it. My vocals are as usual.... my vocals   This will probably be the first cut on my second CD release "Home Cooking and Other Mistakes". 
http://www.reverbnation.com/stevestallings/song/21105270-lots-of-lonely
 
Here is the DR value data regarding compression:
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Statistics for: Lots of Lonely Master.wav
Number of Samples: 7783627
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                        left       right
Peak value: -0.30 dB --- -0.30 dB
Avg RMS: -11.20 dB --- -11.49 dB
DR channel: 9.49 dB --- 9.86 dB
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Official DR value: DR10
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thanks!

Steve, the steel sounds very good to me. Wasn't that crazy about the snare. All the tracks, to me, seemed to need a little more shine/brightness to me. Vocal sounded fine to me. Enjoyed listening to this.

I am with chasmcg on sound of the track.  It seems lacking in luster.  Lead voc is really hot in volume.  Snare has a "punky" sound.  I think you need a remix.  The song and playing is very good.

Sounds good overall! There isn't anything wrong with your vocal ( sounds like Whispering Bill Anderson). It gets kinda lost in the mix when the steel guitar comes in, I think it could come up quite a bit. Other than that it  sounds pretty good. I agree the snare is a little dull.

That steel sounds great :-)
 
I may squeeze your vox a bit harder and bump them up a weence. Good job!

You have an excellent country songwriting style and flair for the vocals and guitars.  Overall a very enjoyable song. :)
 
One thing I want to mention is that I think the drum mix could use some work.  It sounds to my ear like you spent a lot of effort making every drum and cymbal isolated from each other, by using heavy EQ cuts, filters and (possibly) gates.
 
When I mix acoustic drumkits I always remember that bleed through is not the enemy.  I say let the drum tracks ring out and bleed through each other.  Individual drums will resonate with each other, and that is a big part of their natural sound.  Removing track bleed makes drums sound thin and weak.
 
Also, if you have a pair of room mics in the mix, turn that up, and turn all the other mics down significantly.
 
As always, just my $0.02!

Nice steel. I'm a fool for a sweet steel.....
 
This reminds me alot of the country rock I listened to growing up....

IMHO, good song, but the mix needs more definition. Basically a number of little things that need fixing to get it up the ladder to a punchier more robust mix.
 
Several commented on this aspect above. 
 
When I am mixing and get into trouble with the mix not sounding right, I go back to square one. I pull all the FX out and start again with bare tracks. There's a good clean mix in those tracks.... your job is to pull it out without destroying it in the process.

Steve,
 
Nice one.   At the risk of sounding redundant, I think your drums need some work and I would bring the vocals up a bit.   Otherwise, really good.    Very enjoyable listen.

Regards

Ok ladies and germs, this is a new mix. I tried to incorporate all of the input here. 
http://www.reverbnation.c...1105270-lots-of-lonely

Sounds much better to me Steve. Good job. The vox still feel a little tentative, but that's just the way you sang it/style I guess. It does sound better though.