In an unusually frank and extensive interview on his website, bobdylan.com, the normally guarded singer was asked if he had heard any good records lately.

"Iggy Pop’s Après, that’s a good record," he said. "Imelda May, I like her. Valerie June, The Stereophonics. I like Willie Nelson and Norah Jones’ album with Wynton Marsalis, the Ray Charles tribute record. I liked Amy Winehouse’s last record."

This interview came as Bob Dylan prepared for the release of his new triple-CD album, Triplicate. The album will be Dylan's third consecutive record of standards. The previous compilations, Shadows in the Night and Fallen Angels, left him with a sense of unfinished business.

"I did when I realised there was more to it than I thought, that both of those records together only were part of the picture, so we went ahead and did these," he said.

The album contains thirty standards, ranging from 'As Time Goes By' (from the film Casablanca) to Cole Porter's 'These Foolish Things'.

On the collection, Dylan said: "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."

Triplicate will be released on March 31.