Olav M Bjornsen
Progressor – Uzbekistan Progressive Rock Pages
August 17, 2015
“Those with a fascination for vintage-style symphonic progressive rock of a more accessible nature should take note of Roolaart’s CD “The Plight of Lady Oona”. Layered, vintage keyboard arrangements in accessible compositions with orientations towards ballads and folk music are what you get here, with sparse use of dramatic effects and fairly smooth and elegant developments in general. If that sounds like appealing music to you, this is a CD worth taking a closer look at. 4.0/5.0” Read More
iTunes Customer Reviews
Elevated Dreaming
by Chel-Victoria
This album brings a whole new dimension to the world of creativity, imagination and harmonies…I catch myself daydreaming as soon as I play The Plight of Lady Oona. And yet, nothing superficial about it, the world of music and incredible sounds suddenly seem as important as the real world. What is the inside and what is the outside? Thank you for those beautiful and deep songs.
Didier Gonzalez
HighLands Magazine
August 8, 2014
“(In French) Cet album d’Anton ROOLAART constitue un ravissement de tous les instants. Sa constante luxuriance instrumentale, son raffinement vocal, la puissance de son inspiration mélodique, la qualité et l’ambition des compositions rehaussées par des arrangements de haut niveau et une production sans faille en font une oeuvre de grande envergure. Ne passez pas à côté ! 18/20” Read More
Bertrand Pourcheron
clairetobscur.fr
July 27, 2014
“(In French) On vous l’accorde volontiers : on n’attrape pas les mouches avec du vinaigre et il faut bien reconnaître qu’avec un nom comme Anton Roolaart et une pochette bourrée jusqu’à la moelle de clichés, cet opus n’a pas de quoi enflammer l’imaginaire des amateurs de rock. Honnis soient donc ceux qui se sont arrêtés à ces premières impressions trompeuses….” Read More
Monosea
Progressive Area (France)
June 7, 2014
“(In French) Sept années après “Dreamer”, son premier album, très bien accueilli par la critique, le multi instrumentiste néerlandais Anton ROOLAART remet le couvert avec “The Plight Of Lady Oona”. Il en a composé tous les morceaux, qui ont été enregistrés aux USA et aux Pays-Bas. Anton ROOLAART vit depuis plusieurs années à New York. On retrouve sur ce deuxième album deux musiciens de “Dreamer”, le bassiste Vinnie PURYEAR et le claviériste Rave TESAR ( RENAISSANCE).
…” Read More
Dick van der Heijde
ProgWereld.nl
June 10, 2014
“
… (In Dutch) Roolaart maakt gewoon de muziek die hij zelf mooi vindt. Het album biedt donkere sfeervolle prog die niet te zwaar op de maag ligt met daarin veel ruimte voor zijn kundige gitaarspel dat meestal omlijst wordt door smaakvolle toetsenpartijen. Roolaart is een oprecht muzikant die niet kost wat kost alles zelf heeft willen doen. Hij heeft net als op zijn vorige album een aantal, veelal bevriende gasten uitgenodigd op plaatsen waar de muziek dat nodig heeft.
…”
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John Pfeiffer
Shoreworld – The Aquarian
May 21, 2014
“Anton Roolaart is an artist that is completely different from any other writer or player I know. The fact that he has invented this sound from influential mentors, dreams, imaginative recollections or intuitions are the reasons we all hail the fight and glory of original music in the first place, and The Plight Of Lady Oona does all of this and more.”
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Ivan Melgar Morey
ProgArchives.com
April 24, 2014
“Seven years ago I rated Dreamer with 4 solid stars, but now he has matured and offers us a solid release that deserves no less than 5 solid stars..Hope we don’t have to wait another seven years for the third record.”
Read More
Martin Hutchinson
LadyObscure.com
April 24, 2014
‘The Plight of Lady Oona’ is an album that gives up its delights bit by bit, there is no instant gratification on offer here, if you are prepared to invest time in the music it will deliver a cornucopia of musical delights. Anton Roolaart is a name to look out for, my first introduction to his music has been an intensive and incredibly impressive one and, it won’t be my last.”
Zachary Nathanson
Music from the Other Side of the Room
April 18, 2014
“This is my 10th time listening to The Plight of Lady Oona, and it shows that Anton Roolaart is back to give the Prog genre a real jolt. With the lyrics on defining gravity, searching for a new beginning, and how life can be a mystery, it is a stunning yet striking welcoming return for Roolaart to see what he would come up with next.”
Read More
Henri Strik
BackgroundMagazine.nl
September 11, 2010
“Sometimes I wonder why progressive rock albums are released without anyone knowing about it. That also happened with Dreamer, the solo album of the Dutch-rooted American and multi-instrumentalist Anton Roolaart”
Peter Hackett
MusicWaves.fr
June 23, 2010
Ses origines, ses icones (Yes, Genesis), ses experiences musicales, pourraient laisser a penser qu’Anton s’orienterait vers le rock progressif, voire neo-progressif … Read More
Zachary Nathanson
Progressive Rock Reviews
August 12, 2009
The homage’s of
Yes, PFM, Genesis, and ELP is all on here for Anton Roolaart and it is gigantic than what you think… Read More
Dan Tordjman
Progressia (France)
March 10, 2009
Dan give’s Dreamer 7 out of 10 stars. Read More (in French)
Eddie Lascu
Gnosis Prog Site
Dec 17, 2008
“…The result is a very well crafted album, with lots of maturity, given the experience of all the musicians who made contributions to it. The interesting fact though about “Dreamer” is that throughout the entire album there is this undeniable feeling that this is a personal affair. The level of emotion that is poured into each song, the evocation of past events, the lyricism of texts and the suave atmosphere that is created within will all convince you that Roolaart is a fabulous story-teller, much in the vein of Guy Manning or Steve Cochrane…” (Read More)
Progfiles.com
Jan 28, 2008
“Simply put, Dreamer has made it’s way past my “review” pile and comfortably sits on a cycle of frequently listened to discs. I lost the CD once as it made a seemingly harmless trip from my studio to my car. It was only absent for a day, but it was a day of panic. I cant be without this album, I’d buy it again and again if I ever did lose it. Very, VERY few CDs hold the same honor.”(Read More)
Jesus Diaz
Eufonia (Monterrey, Mexico)
Jan 12, 2008
“Jesus from
eufOnia radio show from Monterrey, Mexico reviews Dreamer. (in Spanish) “(Read More)
Ryan Sparks
Sea of Tranquility
Nov 11, 2007
“…Dreamer succeeds on so many levels, primarily by not only acknowledging the progressive greats of the past, yet by also remaining firmly entrenched in the sounds of today and more importantly with an eye towards the future as well. If you are a fan of progressive music in any shape or form, then I highly recommend you check out this very impressive debut.”(Read More)
July 4, 2007 issue
“Refreshing and curious, Anton Roolaart’s newrecord on the Umbrello label and entitled Dreamer is an adventure in Audiophonic odyssey. Like following Alice down the rabbit hole, Dreamer is a magical mystery that only reveals itself as the listener follows its true path.”… This is definitely one of the year’s best albums…(Read More)
Mark Elliot
USA Progressive Music
July 2, 2007
“Anton Roolaart’s new album Dreamer is a very symphonic sounding CD, a feast for lovers of the more mellow side of Prog”… (Read More)
Soul Dreamer
ProgBase.com
June 10, 2007
Soul Dreamer (from
ProgBase.com) reviews Dreamer “This album is a nice surprise! A debut progressive symphonic album by a new artist that is a pleasure to listen to…” (Read More)
Erik Neuteboom
ProgArchives.com
May 8, 2007
“Listening to this debut CD I notice that the eight compositions sound like a journey through a beautiful and varied musical landscape with lots of surprising and exciting ideas…” (Read More)
Iván Melgar-Morey
ProgArchives.com
April 24, 2007
“It’s always a pleasure to review the debut of a Symphonic artist, but is a double pleasure when it’s a very solid album like “Dreamer”, because it makes us have hope that our beloved genre will keep evolving in time and it’s not doomed to oblivion as many other genres before Prog…” (Read More)
Vito Vitale
ProgArchives.com
April 30, 2007
Vito Vitale reviews Dreamer (Read More)
Rick Damigella
Music Street Journal
March 28, 2007
Connoisseurs of progressive rock have a debut disc from an amazing player to look forward to in April. Netherland’s born Anton Roolaart’s debut disc, Dreamer, should be occupying space on your iPod or in your CD tray for many months to come. The disc is a delight for fans of emotive and original electric guitar voicing. From gentle, complimentary
notes on his vocals to explosive yet exacting bursts of steel-wound string magic, Anton demonstrates his mastery of the frets. The album’s complex guitar textures and arrangements display this New Jersey musician’s deft capabilities with the genre he has a passion
for…”