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. A master tape cover shows the date 10.15.72. The recordings were slowed when Epic demanded the group fire guitarist Steve Coronel and replace him with Ron Leejack. When the album was completed and presented to Epic, its A&R director Don Ellis hated it and refused to release it. 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.
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. Bootleg versions of the album appear on P2P networks. Tracks 1, 3 and 5 were released on the Kiss box set in 2001.
Personnel.
Additional personnel