I really like the new bass levels and the darker piano tones. The bass part really works to frame the song nicely.
 
I'm imagining a woodier sounding, darker (less *effecty* sounding) snare that will work its way back just by the change in predominant frequency.
 
Imagine replacing the guitar solo with a baritone sax or maybe a french horn and ask your self if the song really jives with a late 80's guitar tone or if that just happened as a matter of course or habit.
 
How about pushing the upper midrange on the vocals, and maybe lo-shelf the vocal as well... maybe a few dB down up to 200Hz+ with a mild Q. I assume you have a low cut on it... even if you don't use the shelf use a low cut to dig out some of the bass. It sounds like you have a lot of proximity effect from singing real close to the mic.
 
If I were mixing I'd run a copy of the vocal through Melodyne just to see if I liked the results.
 
The back ground vocals sound real nice. Maybe a touch of low cut on them... I'd wait till after working the lead vocal a bit.
 
I like this song a lot otherwise I wouldn't list stuff the way I have. You have a great song on your hands.
 
 
best regards,
mike
 
 

Thanks very much Mike.  I'm going to take a whirl at those recommendations and the others mentioned as well.  I'll probably first work on the snare.  My vocal intonation drives me nuts, so V-vocal or additional takes is on the to do list to play with.  But I'm doing much better than I was...at least the mic is out and connected.  That alone is progress.  Also dual in line dynamics processing is on my list to play with. 

Interesting, it is smooth/mellow, but also pretty sparse. (nothing wrong with that) The drums seem to be sitting back a little And I know it's the style? But I would vary that snare and hat track up just a little in a few places to break it up a little. 
 
I like the vocals, the bass and key(piano) parts. I'm less fond of the drums (the crashes sound distant and are all at just a couple of timbres and volumes) 
 
Listening again, yes, you need to change up that snare/hat combo, and the drums need to be saturated. I would brighten that piano a bit, and if it's not spread, I would spread it. And the synths in the background seem to be a little too far in the background.
 
Keep in mind, while this seems like a lot? It's all actually pretty minor. And it's also just one opinion, and I'm not the mix master ;-) But I'll give you an honest opinion.
 
I do like the song. I think the mix could make it better. But again, most of my mixes suck :-) Overall, good job.

Updated mix posted on OP.  Thanks for the listen.

Mix sounds great!  Very clear sound, smooth performances, and nice song.  I like it!

Thanks man.  I appreciate the listen.  I'd like to work on the vocal some more, but that'll be a fish to fry later.  This ended up having very little compression throughout, and about 2 dB max gain reduction on the master bus.

Well...I had a listen to the earlier (like a few years ago) vocal tracks and I like them better, so they are playing now.  I like it better.  Updated link here and on OP.
 
https://soundcloud.com/donny-collins/carry-to-my-love-blessed

This one sounds good too. :)

How bout that!  My cousin's name is Donny Collins.  The song is very good.  I agree about the drums, though.  The update is really better IMHO.  Something about the drums still seems to bother me a bit but it could just be me, Donny.  The vocal is nicely done.

How bout that!  My cousin's name is Donny Collins.  The song is very good.  I agree about the drums, though.  The update is really better IMHO.  Something about the drums still seems to bother me a bit but it could just be me, Donny.  The vocal is nicely done.