FWIW, I detected the irony in both of your uses of "pedant," guys! :) But I for one thought it would be interesting spur for discussion to take it at face (no face) value.
***
Here's a list of the shanties recorded by Lloyd and MacColl in collaboration. I may certainly have missed some; please add, if so. I have deliberately left out the the forebitter-ish, rarely-used-as-shanties songs like The Dreadnaught, Go to Sea Once More, etc., only because I don't think they have much relevance to the discussion.
A Hundred Years Ago Billy Riley Black Ball Line Blood Red Roses Blow Boys Blow Blow the Man Down Bowline Bring 'em Down Gal with the Blue Dress On General Taylor Hilo John Brown Hilo Somebody Jamboree Paddy Doyle Reuben Ranzo Rise her Up (Whiskey O) Sally Brown Sally Racket Santiana Stormalong (way, hey, mister stormalong) Wild Goose Shanty (?)
We could eventually look at each of these in detail and see where they may have learned them, how they arranged/adapted them, and how this shapes up with Hugill's assessment, etc.