The Smiley Smile Message Board

Has anyone ever heard a recording of any shows Campbell played with the guys in '64-65? It seems farfetched that they would have been recorded by anyone, but I was just wondering how he might have sounded with them.

I have not, but it is an interesting question you bring up.  I would speculate that it would have sounded very good.  He was a recognized session pro with great chops at that point and likely raised everyone elses (in the band) game.  I did get to see Jan and Dean perform, in 1964, in Phoenix, Az. with a band that was essentially the Wrecking Crew.  They were awesome.  The level that they played at, compared to what I had heard from good local acts, was electrifying.   I would say they were as tight live as they were in the studio, perhaps more so.  I recall that they really seemed to enjoy playing before a crowd.  In retrospect that might well have been an accurate observation, though I did not completely understand who they were at that time.  Afterall these were guys that normally spent day after day plying their trade for long hours in small studios with no real audience interaction except from the record producer.  In these teen clubs, on short tours, they got to show their stuff off, to enthusiastic fans in real time and in person.
 
So I would say that Glen was probably energized and great at those shows.  I would further suggest that it is where he got the nerve to take the risk of leaving session work  and starting his own career, which he did right after doing his BB road gig.