Walt Disney Studio’s The Sounds of Outerspace

Jan 29, 2019

In 1981, two years after the release of The Black Hole, Disney released The Sounds of Outerspace. A celebration of science fiction audio, with high quality production values, this album was a favorite of mine when I was a kid,

Galactic sound effects that put you in the action!

The album was produced by Michael Maraldo and engineered by Bob Kinsey. I cannot find any biographical information about either of them onilne. Which is surprising considering the amount of Disney fandom out there. If anyone out there knows anything about Bob or Michael, please pass that information along to me.

This two sides of the album offer very different experiences. On side A, you get these fun mini audio science fiction adventure snippets. They are wonderful theater of the mind experiences.

I spent many hours laying on the matted shag carpet of my bedroom dreaming about space adventures while listening to these.

SPACE ADVENTURES

Escape Though Hyper-Jump 00:00 – 02:30
Space Probe Launch 02:31 – 05:46
Alien Encounters 05:47 – 07:47
Battle In The Star Fortress 07:48 – 12:58
Galactic Conflict 12:59 – 16:44

While that is fun, it is side two that I listened to even more. It is a series of sound effects and ambient sci-fi sounds. They are well put together, some I believe are pulled from The Black Hole.

Sound Effects

Laser Pistol 0:09
Ion Gun 0:13
Hand Blaster 0:10
Laser Rifle 0:16
Laser Battle 0:20
Nullifier 0:15
Ship Cannon 0:16
Explosions 0:23
Fighter 0:09
Attack Craft 0:10
Super Ship 0:06
Destroyer 0:23
Space Shuttle 0:15
Stellar Station 0:22
Ship Interior 0:30
Ships w/Lasers 0:12
Engine Rev & Blast 0:33
Control Room 0:22
Energy Converter 0:11
Transformer 0:20
Force Field 0:16
Nav-fix Beam 0:14
Air Locks 0:08
Six Alarms 1:04
Aliens 0:21
Aliens 0:16
Aliens 0:15
Aliens 0:18
Androids 0:10
Androids 0:08
Androids 0:16
Androids 0:17
Quasar 0:24
Pulsar 0:19
Black Hole 0:29
Aldoc VI 0:57

I used Side B of the album as a background track for playing with my Star Wars toys, returning to my record player every 15 minutes or so to restart it.

While not as popular as Walt Disney Studio’s Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House, this album has its dedicated fans. So it is often uploaded to the internet both on in mp3 form or on YouTube.

If you want to own a physical copy, the album will run you between $10 and $20 including shipping, although it is common enough that you can still find it thrift and secondhand record stores if you keep your eyes open.