The Original Wicked Lester Sessions
| The Original Wicked Lester Sessions | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by Wicked Lester | |
| Released | Unreleased |
| Recorded | 1971-1972 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 49:19 |
| Label | Epic Records |
| Producer | Ron A. Johnson / Eddie Kramer |
The Original Wicked Lester Sessions is a bootleg release of Wicked Lester's 1972 album for Epic records. Recorded at Electric Lady Studio in NYC producer Ron Johsen created a unique work in progress production which was not fully developed in concept. The album was recorded over a period of years when time was available at Jimmy Hendrix's newly built studio Electric Lady. Wicked Lester members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons left soon after the album was completed and formed another group with a more rock-oriented focus, soon recruiting drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley and changing the newer group's name to Kiss. Original drummer Tony Zarrella & Brooke Ostrander (keyboards) attempted to keep the band together to fully actualize it's new sound development. Epic Records believed Wicked Lester was on the edge of a unique sound & was dedicated to supporting the project.
Several years later, fearing Epic would release the album to capitalize on Kiss' subsequent fame, Simmons and Stanley purchased all rights to the album from Epic (whose then-owners had no idea of Wicked Lester's connection to Kiss) through intermediaries, then shelved it permanently. 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
- "Love Her All I Can" (2:28) Stanley
- "Sweet Ophelia" (2:56) Barry Mann/Gerry Goffin
- "Keep Me Waiting" (3:04) Stanley
- "Simple Type" (2:33) Simmons
- "She" (2:54) Coronel/Simmons
- "Too Many Mondays" (3:27) Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil
- "What Happens in the Darkness" (2:59) Tamy Lester Smith
- "When the Bell Rings" (3:11) Austin Roberts/Christopher Welch
- "Molly" (aka Some Other Guy) (2:23) Stanley
- "We Want to Shout It Out Loud" (2:04) The Hollies
- "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