With the exception of some delay on the vox, and on the lead solo (on one note), I used the exact same reverb for everything... adjusting only the amount of aux send per track or bus... I didn't layer this with multiple/different types of verbs, pal.

I do agree with you that the 'analog" version seems to be too "weighted"... I was really only doing this version as a test of what Samplitude's analog modeling tools could do, it was more for fun, just me mucking about, than thinking I'd actually use this version as the one for release.

I'm a bit tossed on this track on the whole.... in terms of vibe and texture. Part of me would like to grab that "studio sound"... reminiscent of Steely Dan or Michael MacDonald, and the other part of me would like to use a more raw and "live" vibe instead.

I haven't yet decided which way to go with it. Obviously, if I were leaning towards the "studio" sound, I'd dry things up considerably... I'm just not sure which I should do - and - in the end, no matter what I think sounds best, it's really up to my client to decide.

I think you already know that I like modern mixing styles which goes for more right to your sounds. At some point, comments are always deriving from our own tastes and thats a thing that make me stay carefull when I write them.

I think that the different ambiances I hear may come from the sounds you've used or the room the instrument was in. I hear the piano, nearly clean, the drum gets more reverbs and the brass is submurged in a room sound. I'm not saying it's bad. I just feel that they are not the same space and it disturb me a bit. Of course, I may be part of 0.01% of persons on the planet to hear that and maybe the only one that cares.. ;)

I listened again. I think part of what I'm feeling may come from the reflections of the reverb. Did you use a long pre-delay ? Or is the reverb making a slap back (like a wall bounce). Hey man ! I might just have over listened to it. LOL !!