"Lay It Down" : Opinions needed

[Jim of Seattle]

OK, before anyone yells "Somesongs!" at me, I have a song here that I need some feedback on. I'm posting it here so that I can ask some specific questions. I will post to somesongs in due time, but this is maybe a demo mix, depending on response, so it might not be totally finished.

Lay It Down - Jim of Seattle

This is an anniversary present for my wife. I'm giving it to her on Thursday. Before I do, I want to get some opinions. Obviously, I'm not looking for comments on lyrics or melody or anything because it's way too late to change any of that. I'm in the final mix now. I need to know about things I can still change if need be. Here's what I'd like to know:

1) How is the mix, the balance between instruments. Are the vocals too loud or soft? Any instrumental tracks stand out weird?
2) Sometimes there are a lot of instruments, especially in the last couple minutes. Does it ever get muddy? There's a little compression on the final mix. Does that seem OK?
3) In the vein of songs like "Layla" and "My Sweet Lord" and "Hey Jude" and Stevie Wonder's entire Songs in the Key of Life album, the second half of the song is a whole bunch o' repeats. How does this feel? Does it have the intended cool epic end repeat thang going on like those songs I mentioned, or is it just boring and repetitive?
4) What about the piano solo at 5:36? Does it work? I can cut it, and I'm tempted to. Is the energy of the song such that that solo is unwelcome, or is it good?
5) Any other general impressions. Obviously, if you totally love it, don't keep that a secret!

WARNING TO DIAL-UPPERS: THE SONG IS 8 MINUTES LONG AND SO WILL BE A BIG DOWNLOAD

Thanks tons if you can answer any of the above questions.

[HeuristicsInc]

Good idea!
I have to listen on headphones, since my wife's gone to bed.

The vox might be slightly loud, yeah.
The chimey things seem to come in suddenly and then leave just as fast. Do we need them, or should you meld them more?
These "lay it down" bits are nice.
I wasn't quite convinced at the beginning, but when it gets going it sounds really nice. The drums on the fills sound a bit fakey, though (probably nothing to be done there).
The piano solo is just fine.
I'm sensitive to repetition, and I feel like you've changed the end up enough to make this ok. I don't really feel like it's too long, but the beginning didn't feel like it was totally right to me. However once it gets going it's quite good.
The compression is probably good. Doesn't sound muddy to me, the mix of instruments further to the end is in support of the feel of the song.

Anyway, hope this helps; I like the song. I'm sure she'll like it either way!
-bill

[Jim of Seattle]

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for.

Hey, I forgot there was a thread for getting feedback on random songs. Moved the entire thing over to the Listen to my new song thread.