Despite the title, only 22 of the 42 tracks on Gold & Platinum: Hits of the '80s, Vol. 1-3 went gold or platinum according to the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA). But all of them reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1982 and 1986, so they definitely were hits of the '80s. More significant, the box set boasts a much wider scope than most comparable collections; most of the tracks come from the vaults of Sony, but there are also selections the other four major record labels, and among them are songs by artists who usually withhold their work from compilations, such as Bruce Springsteen ("Cover Me"), Michael Jackson ("Human Nature" on his own and "Say, Say, Say" with Paul McCartney), and Billy Joel ("Tell Her About It"). The broad cooperation comes about because the set, issued by the Columbia House music club label Realm Records, is a benefit album for the music industry's favored charity, the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer, and AIDS Research. The album may be another randomly sequenced sampler of big pop hits, but the selection is a slightly above the average. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide