If the folk process is dead then all that has gone before is frozen in amber.

Which a moment's thought will tell you it isn't.

I would argue that MacColl's taking of Sam Larner's spoken cadences and turning them into the Shoals of Herring is part of a folk process.

I would argue that the constant adaptation and change of tunes in sessions by musicians by ear is part of the folk process. I cannot believe that you believe the folk process only dealt with song Jim.

And if the tunes are evolving then the process is alive.

But I am wary of getting into a "What is Tradition" argument.