Platinum & Gold Collection

AMG Review of Platinum & Gold Collection

Thom Jurek
All Music Guide

The entire reason behind the Platinum & Gold Collection series issued by RCA is to assemble the ten to 13 best-known tracks an artist has released. In this case there are twelve, but there is a notable omission. First the good news: all of Dolly Parton's huge trademark tunes are here: "Coat of Many Colors," "Joshua," "Jolene," "My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy," "9 to 5," "Burning the Midnight Oil" with Porter Wagoner, and more, all from between 1970 and 1980. The sound is wonderfully remastered and the liner notes by Dennis Diken are more than adequate. If only they had included -- meaning they would have had to license -- "Islands in the Stream," her stellar duet with Kenny Rogers, this collection would have been unbeatable for the price. It's still a good one, but alas, without "Islands in the Stream" it's not definitive.