Credit: William ClaxtonBob Dylan praises the music of Amy Winehouse and Iggy Pop and talks about a legendary recording session that never was in a wide-ranging interview on his official website.
The question-and-answer session with author Bill Flanagan was done in anticipation of Triplicate, the three-disc, 30-track collection of classic American songs Dylan will release March 31. It’s his third straight dip into the American songbook, following 2015’s Shadows in the Night and 2016’s Fallen Angels.
Asked if he’d heard any good records lately, Dylan mentions Iggy Pop, Imelda May, Stereophonics and late soul singer Amy Winehouse. He calls Winehouse “the last real individualist around.”
Dylan also addresses the story of what would have been a legendary recording session he was set to do with George Harrison and Elvis Presley. Asked why Presley didn’t show up for the session, Dylan says, “He did show up — it was us that didn’t.”
As to why he’s releasing three discs of music at once with Triplicate, Dylan explains, “It’s better that they come out at the same time because thematically they are interconnected, one is the sequel to the other and each one resolves the previous one.”
Quizzed about what his fans think of his recent fascination with standards, Dylan replies, “These songs are meant for the man on the street, the common man, the everyday person. Maybe that is a Bob Dylan fan, maybe not, I don’t know.”
And what does Dylan think when he sees footage of himself from 40 or 50 years ago? “I see Nat King Cole, ‘Nature Boy’ — a very strange enchanted boy, a terribly sophisticated performer, got a cross section of music in him, already postmodern. That’s a different person than who I am now.”
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