Now this is my kind of winging it.
Kronomyth 5.1: Jet stream of consciousness.
Lyrically, “Jet” is one of Paul McCartney’s most confounding works. Is it about his dog, his wife, David Bowie? Macca always went more for sound than meaning (“Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da,” “Hello Goodbye,” “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” etc.), and you can sprain your brain trying to figure them out, so why give the lyrics more thought than the author himself did? The B side for the album’s first official single (“Helen Wheels” was appended to Band as an afterthought) was “Mamunia,” another track that has fostered wild speculation, some suggesting that it’s Paul’s “Hey Jude” for John Lennon because of its reference to Los Angeles.
For reasons unknown to me, “Mamunia” was swapped out for “Let Me Roll It” after the initial pressings. That song, it has also been suggested, is a commentary on Lennon because its use of an echoed voice sounds like John’s work from this period (Mind Games, etc.). Beatles fans apparently have active imaginations and an inordinate amount of free time on their hands.
Original 7-inch single version (US first pressing)
A1. Jet (Pal McCartney) (4:08)
B1. Mamunia (Paul McCartney) (4:51)
7-inch single version (International pressings & US second pressing)
A1. Jet (Paul McCartney) (4:08)
B1. Let Me Roll It (Paul McCartney) (4:51)
Back-to-back hits 7-inch single reissue (1980)
A1. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (Paul & Linda McCartney) (4:50)
B1. Jet (Paul McCartney) (4:08)
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch single on January 28, 1974 in the US (Apple, 1871), on February 15, 1974 in the UK and Sweden (Apple, R 5996), on February 18, 1974 in the US (Apple, 1871, second pressing), and in 1974 in Argentina (Apple, 1952), Brazil (Apple, S7BT-73), France (Apple, 2C 008 05554), Germany (Apple/EMI Electrola, 1C 006-05 554), Japan (Apple, EAR-10520), Spain (Apple, 1J 006 05554) and Yugoslavia (Apple/Jugoton, SAP-88729); reached #7 on the UK charts and #7 on the US charts (charted on February 9, 1974 for 14 weeks). Regional versions feature different picture sleeves.
- Re-issued on 7-inch single in 1975 in Japan (Apple, EPR-10788) with picture sleeve.
- Re-issued on 7-inch single in 1977 in the UK (Capitol, R 5996).
- Re-packaged on back-to-back hits 7-inch single in 1980 in the US (Columbia, 13-33408) with “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” on the flip side.
