RCA's single-disc collection of
Hot Tuna's early output isn't as expansive as their two-CD compilation,
The Best of Hot Tuna, but provides a nice springboard for those looking to find out what they were all about. The majority of the focus is on the albums
First Pull Up, Then Pull Down and
Burgers, when leaders
Jorma Kaukonen and
Jack Cassidy joined up with fiddler
Papa John Creach and drummer Sammy Piazza for electrified readings of classic blues numbers, but
Platinum & Gold Collection also contains four tracks from
Hot Tuna's heavy period and one from their early acoustic beginnings. ~ Gregory McIntosh