AMG Review of Platinum & Gold Collection

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

Two years after releasing the first Rick Astley hits collection -- aptly titled Greatest Hits -- RCA released the second, as part of their Platinum & Gold series. What's the difference between the two? Four tracks. Platinum & Gold is shorter, and lacks the minor hits "Move Right Out" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" that were on the previous compilation, but most casual fans won't notice their absence since this not only contains the big hits "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Together Forever," "She Wants to Dance With Me," "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man," and "Cry for Help," it front-loads them so they occupy the first five tracks of this 12-track collection, which makes for a much more engaging listen than Greatest Hits. Plus, it's cheaper than Greatest Hits, which means that for all but the dedicated Astley fan -- who is likely to want full-length albums anyway -- this is the collection to get.