When Madonna started work on her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, she was already in an emotional state of mind, following her split with then-husband Sean Penn, her thirtieth birthday, and unfavorable reviews for her acting endeavors.

[8][9] It was produced by Madonna and Bray, and features Paulinho da Costa on percussion, brass playing by David Boruff and Steven Madaio, Bill Bottrell as the audio engineer and guitars by Chester Kamen.

[4] Mark C. Taylor, author of Nots: Religion and Postmodernism, felt that "Keep It Together" was a "striking instance of her repeated invocation of family values".

[13] Carol Benz, one of the authors of The Madonna Connection, believed that the song was successful in asserting the necessity of family ties.

[14] J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography described the track as "an uptempo romp about the trials and tribulations, and the joys of having a family.

"[15] Martha Bayles, author of Hole In Our Soul, felt that "Keep It Together" failed to become an anthem for emotional commitment, because of the funk nature of the song.

[16] Madonna, Unauthorized's writer Christopher Anderson proclaimed the track as a worthy number-one single, and complimented the song's theme of allegiance to one's family, despite the turmoil and dissensions that occur.

[18] Bill Coleman from Billboard stated that "the Material Girl rises above the beat and unveils a most riveting vocal performance.

[21] Conversely, Ian Blair of the Chicago Tribune thought that the different funk tempo of the song distracted from the emotional quotient of the album.

[23] Writing for The Jerusalem Post, Andy Goldberg from the newspaper listed the song as one of the highlights of the album, and complimented the family oriented lyrics.

[24] Bruce Britt from Boca Raton News believed that "Keep It Together" was one of the songs from the album, that exemplified the personal approach to songwriting by Madonna.

[26] Stephen Holden from The New York Times believed that the song brought the pop-funk style and hippie happiness of Sly and the Family Stone.

[27] Journalist J. D. Considine, while reviewing Like a Prayer for Rolling Stone, felt that "Keep It Together" portrayed "an impressive invocation of the importance of family".

[28] Considine was concerned that since the confessional nature of the songs on Like a Prayer evoked strong emotions from the listener, "Keep It Together" would probably seem almost trivial by comparison to them.

[29] Jose F. Promis from the same website complimented the single mix of the track, calling it one of Madonna's "best and funkiest tunes, and a prime example of late-'80s/early-'90s dance/house/R&B music".

"[30] Kenneth Partridge from Billboard described the song as a mid-tempo synth-funk tune with a "tense" groove, on which Madonna offers an olive branch to her estranged father and siblings.

[35] During the next few weeks, the song fell quickly from its peak as Madonna's next single, "Vogue", began to get massive radio airplay.

[49][50] Madonna wore an all-black ensemble involving a cage vest, the longline bra, skintight shorts, knee-pads and a bowler hat.

[51] In an interview with Stephen Holden from The New York Times, Madonna explained the significance of the performance: "Finally, right when you think I'll end [the concert] on a happy note, I come out with my family to do a Bob Fosse-meets-'Clockwork Orange' rendition of 'Keep It Together'.

[53] Conversely, author Allen Metz commented that although the performance was tightly choreographed, the overall feel was marred due to the song's own "shortcomings".

[54] Greg Kot from Chicago Tribune felt that the addition of lines from "Family Affair" underlined the "home-is-where-the-heart-is" theme of "Keep It Together".