Pearl Jam have always been a band that understands what it means to be a fan, and that as a fan, it's always cool when your favorite band adds something extra to sweeten the pot.

The band will drop a new self-titled album, their first since leaving Epic Records, on May 2nd. While you can go to your favorite mom and pop record store and buy it then, this is definitely one case where you are better off to embrace the technology, and pre-order via the band's official site.

Fans that pre-order the album from the site will receive a couple of bonuses including a free digital download of the album one minute after the album becomes available in the U.S.

The real action though, is the bonus live disc that you get by pre-ordering the album, which contains a classic New Year's Eve Pearl Jam performance, recorded live at The Academy in New York City in 1992.

As they say, where do I sign?

Pearl Jam still puts on one of the best shows for the buck, but believe me, I am salivating at the prospects of having an officially released show from 1992 on disc. Having heard many recorded documents (read: bootlegs) of shows from those early years, I often kick myself for missing each and every chance I had to catch the early gigs.

I have always kept an eye on what Pearl Jam is up to musically. For me, their first mistake was with the No Code album. I didn't get it, and this wasn't the Pearl Jam that I knew and loved. It was only one morning, several months after the release of No Code, that I became among the converted. I was walking past a friend's office, and again heard this album, and had to stop and ask what it was. No Code was the album playing, and I finally saw it for the great album that it was. Sadly, it remains an underappreciated album with many that didn't get a second listen like me.

From that point, Pearl Jam lost me for a few albums, and finally lured me back in with their most recent studio release, Riot Act. Riot Act was the album in my opinion, that should have been the followup to No Code. "Love Boat Captain" and "Thumbing My Way" are genius songs. They are a long way removed from the band that brought you the Ten album, but as a band, Pearl Jam have aged well.

It is the long journey that Pearl Jam have made as a band, that makes me excited about not only the new album, but also the bonus live disc release. With that bonus disc, we have the opportunity to revisit good times in our collective past. I am excited about the new album, as well. Coming off a good release like Riot Act, there's a good shot that it will be good. And it has to be good, because even the artwork is cool.

The new album is coming, tour dates are being booked, and official live bootlegs will be recorded. It's going to be a fun year for us Pearl Jam fans, indeed.

On a side note, I don't think Al Barger is looking forward to the new album quite as much as I am!