The Original Wicked Lester Sessions

The Original Wicked Lester Sessions is a bootleg release of Wicked Lester's 1972 album for Epic records. The album was recorded over a period of months when time was available at Jimi Hendrix's newly built studio Electric Lady. The recordings were slowed when Epic demanded the group fire guitarist Steve Coronel and replace him with Ron Leejack.[1] When the album was completed and presented to Epic, its A&R director Don Ellis hated it and refused to release it.[1] Reeling from the rejection and dissatisfied with the sound of the album itself, Wicked Lester members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons left the group and formed a new incarnation of Wicked Lester, soon recruiting drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley and changing the newer group's name to Kiss.

The Original Wicked Lester Sessions
Studio album by
Wicked Lester
ReleasedUnreleased
Recorded1971-1972
GenreRock
Length49:19
LabelEpic Records
ProducerRon A. Johnson / Eddie Kramer

In 1977, fearing Epic would release the album (which included then-rare pictures of Simmons and Stanley without makeup) to capitalize on Kiss' subsequent fame, Kiss and its label Casablanca purchased all rights to the album for $138,000, then shelved it permanently.[1][2] Bootleg versions of the album appear on P2P networks. Tracks 1, 3 and 5 were released on the Kiss box set in 2001.

Track listing
  1. "Love Her All I Can" (2:28) Stanley
  2. "Sweet Ophelia" (2:56) Barry Mann/Gerry Goffin
  3. "Keep Me Waiting" (3:04) Stanley
  4. "Simple Type" (2:33) Simmons
  5. "She" (2:54) Coronel/Simmons
  6. "Too Many Mondays" (3:27) Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil
  7. "What Happens in the Darkness" (2:59) Tamy Lester Smith
  8. "When the Bell Rings" (3:11) Austin Roberts/Christopher Welch
  9. "Molly" (aka Some Other Guy) (2:23) Stanley
  10. "We Want to Shout It Out Loud" (2:04) The Hollies
  11. "Long, Long Road" (4:28) Stanley
  • Note: As the album was never officially released, there are many different song orderings available on downloaded copies, with "Love Her All I Can," "What Happens in the Darkness," "Simple Type," and "Sweet Ophelia" all serving as the opening tracks for various versions.

Personnel
  • Paul Stanley - lead vocals, guitar
  • Gene Simmons - lead vocals, bass guitar
  • Ron Leejack - lead guitar, banjo
  • Brooke Ostrander - piano, horns
  • Tony Zarrella - drums & percussion

Additional personnel
  • Steve Coronel - guitar

References
  1. DeRiso, Nick (29 September 2014). "Before They Were Kiss: The History of Wicked Lester". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  2. Prato, Greg. "Wicked Lester Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 January 2020.

Sources
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