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 months when time was available at Jimi 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.

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