Martin Brest’s Meet Joe Black is the rarest of Hollywood creatures – a three-hour character study that combines comedy with metaphysical romance. Anthony Hopkins stars as William Parrish, a media mogul whose life is altered by an encounter with Joe Black (Brad Pitt), who happens to be the Grim Reaper. Thomas Newman’s score album begins with the omniscient voice of Hopkins, who reassures the listener by saying ‘Yes’. The composer follows with a restrained but genuinely moving work that communicates with directness and simplicity. After an introductory vignette of harps, wispy violins and halting piano chords, Newman premieres his main theme for solo flute (‘Walkaway’). An elegaic, secondary theme for strings is unveiled in ‘Whisper of a Thrill’, which breaks into a magical diversion for piano and electronics at 2'19''. The film’s humorous side is represented by incisive, upbeat string scoring and a jaunty clarinet solo. At all times the composer is faithful to his musical construction as well as the dramatic analysis of character. The disc reaches a catharsis in ‘That Next Place’, during which Newman reveals the deepest emotional possibilities of his thematic material. Kevin Mulhall