The Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra rings out 2008 with 1970's rock

EDGE, Boston

Ever imagine what it would sound like for David Bowie to join up with The Beatles in a rendition of 'Abbey Road's' second side? Or what the result might be if you brought Queen and The Who on the same stage as Paul McCartney and Wings?

Wonder no longer: the Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra, like a rift in the space/time continuum, brings these acts, and more, together for an evening of classic rock.

The group - essentially a five-piece rock band with better than a dozen vocalists - is playing an end-of-year engagement at the Stuart Street Playhouse in Boston, with plans to add Led Zeppelin to their New Year's lineup.

The performers (and they are performers in the broadest sense of the word, seeming more like an off-Broadway act than a rock concert) mimic their characters loosely, but you'll have fun picking out who is who among the 19 musicians on stage, who hop around from mike to mike and break out an array of musical instruments to augment the drums, keyboard, and guitars.

The two sets URO played at the Stuart Street Playhouse (or, as they referred to it, 'The Stuart') drew heavily on Queen ('Bohemian Rhapsody,' 'Fat Bottomed Girls,' a smoldering rendition of 'Love of My Life' delivered by female vocalist Fatima Elmi,) David Bowie ('Ziggy Stardust,' an odder than usual 'Space Oddity' that involved some cosmic pantomime, a sizzling 'Suffragette City,') and The Beatles (some of whom were portrayed by women,) with some original material thrown in - along with an explanation.

The band, it seems, started out as a lark to re-record 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' then turned into an effort to create an original rock opera. This collection of rock standards is no rock opera, but it is a well-chosen play list of the songs that made the 1970s a seismic decade socially and creatively.

It's also a kid-friendly production, as evidenced in the second set by the on-stage presence of a little girl, a rock-savvy tyke who sang along for a few verses of 'Moonage Daydream' before being sent back to her seat. Take your kids (or, ahem, grand-kids) to this show to give them a safe and sanitary taste of what classic rock was all about.

This production has the gloss and energy of a Las Vegas show; you could call it 'Rock and Roll: The Experience' and sell it as part of package vacations without risking offense to anyone.