Good advice.

My mixing sessions start out with the drums and the bass. I mute everything except the drums... I EQ the drums for clarity and definition.... I want that kick to kick and the snare needs to have snap in it....as much as is possible using the real drum tracks. Often if that doesn't work and if I'm not in a hurry, I will turn to midi sampled drums to get that drive I want.

Bass is a close second IMHO.... what a properly EQ'd and mixed bass & drum track and a good singer, you have a song that will stand on it's own. guitars and keys, and everything else is filler. I always like to point to this song as an example of this in action.

BLACK VELVET

And the secret with adding the filler is to only add what is absolutely essential. Many folks make the beginner mistake of thinking that...well, they took the time to record the tracks so it'd be a shame to waste them, so we'll just put all 20 of them in the mix and make it sound "full". Wrong. It makes it sound like a beginner mixed the song.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.