The John Legend train keeps rolling

Consider John Legend’s latest album the musical equivalent of a runaway train.

Even though “Evolver” was released last October, the music just keeps drawing fans to Legend’s shows, which continue to receive glowing reviews, which continue to draw fans, which — well, you get the idea.

“It’s been going very well,” Legend said by phone from New York. “I think this tour is the best one yet. I think you learn each time you go out [on tour] … what works, what doesn’t.”

If critics’ superlatives are any indication, Legend has it down, gliding from romantic ballads to more explicitly sexual songs. The transitions are so natural, so heartfelt, that critics note audiences keep singing, dancing and dreaming right along with this six-time Grammy Award winner.

With his sultry voice and smooth, handsome looks, Legend has always donned the role of sex symbol, but “Evolver” ramps it up even more, moving a bit away from soft candlelight and into a more overtly sexual style. Although the shift seems in keeping with the growth of the artist, he claims it didn’t spring from any master plan.

“I’m not very calculated when it comes to this stuff,” Legend said. “I think I am a songwriter and performer both because I don’t think of those things as separate. When I am writing songs, I always think about how I will perform them. I love performing, especially songs I write and co-write.”

Legend’s 2004 debut studio album, “Get Lifted,” which featured collaborations with musical heavyweights including Kanye West and Snoop Dogg, was released to commercial and critical acclaim and swept a Grammy right out from under his friend West. Think of that album as the start of what has become a journey to more approbation, collaborations and deeply textured music.

Yet for all the kudos, awards and high-profile musical collaboration, the man who became a musician to follow in the footsteps of the late Michael Jackson seems incredibly down to earth.

Don’t look for him in supermarket tabloids or jumping into the latest publicity-generating act; his train doesn’t stop there.

Take for example the many Jackson tributes that have occurred since his death three weeks ago. Critics have noted that Legend — who performed “Never Can Say Goodbye” in a few shows since Jackson’s death — hasn’t done more tributes.

“I am a huge fan and love his music — it’s some of my favorite music ever — but I’m not doing it justice by performing it,” said Legend, who added that he had never been “star-struck” before meeting Jackson. “Other voices are more fitting to do tributes to Michael.”